The top two seeds at the Aegon International - Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep - both survived scares in their opening matches of the grass season in Eastbourne on Wednesday.

Kerber, the No.1 seed, won her first match since early May as she battled past world No.44 Kristyna Pliskova in three sets, while Halep also needed a deciding set to finish off the Chinese qualifier, Duan Ying-Ying, in a contest held over from Tuesday.

Local crowd favourite and British No.1 Johanna Konta had a much easier passage into the last 16 on another rain-hit day on the south coast. The world No.7 crushed Romania’s Sorana Cirstea for the loss of just four games.

After losing an entire day to wet weather on Tuesday, organisers had been hoping to complete the quarter-final line-up by Wednesday night.

But more rain from 5pm means all third-round matches at the WTA Premier event are still to be completed, with Agnieszka Radwanska and Lauren Davis yet to finish their second-round match. The winner of that one could potentially play three times on Court 3 on Thursday.

Having lost her opening matches in Rome and at Roland Garros, it was looking as if it might be another rough week for Kerber when she went a set down against the big-serving Pliskova on Centre Court.

But the German was rewarded for her fighting spirit when she took the second set 6-1 and broke the Czech at 5-5 in the decider, before serving out for a 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 win that earns her a third-round meeting with Spanish qualifier Lara Arruabarrena.

“It feels good, always the first rounds are tough,” Kerber said. “She was serving very well and I was focusing on my return. At the end of the match I was focusing point-by-point and was going for it if I had the chance. I’m happy I’m through.”

Halep talked earlier in the week about the frustration of missing a golden opportunity to win the French Open final this month, and her 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Duan should go some way to help the healing process.

Halep will need to come out firing on Thursday, however, as she trailed the Bulgarian lucky loser, Tsvetana Pironkova, by a set and a break when the weather put a stop to their match.

For Konta, it was a dream start to an event that is close to her heart. The No.5 seed’s parents live in Eastbourne, which allows the 26-year-old some valuable family time and she is guaranteed another night in her own bed after a 6-2, 6-2 win over Cirstea. Konta will face the French Open champion, Jelena Ostapenko, in the last 16.

“I played [Ostapenko] once before - earlier this year actually, during Fed Cup,” Konta said. “That was on indoor hard. We are playing on a different surface here. She's obviously coming in with a lot of confidence, a lot of match routine.

“What she's achieved is absolutely incredible, so I'm looking forward to playing against a Grand Slam champion.”

The biggest shock of the day came on Court 4, where Czech Barbora Strycova thrashed the No.11 seed, Garbine Muguruza, 6-1, 6-0 in 61 minutes.

Elsewhere, No.6 seed Caroline Wozniacki get the better of Japan’s Naomi Osaka 6-2, 7-6(5), Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova, the No.7 seed, beat German qualifier Mona Barthel 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 and France’s Kristina Mladenovic, the No.9 seed, outplayed China’s Zhang Shuai 6-0, 6-4.

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