Melbourne:
Players fainted and vomited, while a ball boy collapsed as the
Australian Open boiled on one of the hottest days in its history on
Tuesday, prompting angry complaints and keeping fans away from the
Melbourne Park. Temperatures of 42.2 Celsius, enough to melt plastic bottles on the rubberized courts, made for a punishing day for the players with some incensed their matches went ahead. Canada’s Frank Dancevic lashed out at the “inhumane” playing conditions after he felt dizzy and then blacked out and needed treatment during his first-round defeat to Benoit Paire.
“I think it’s inhumane, I don’t think it’s fair to anybody, to the players, to the fans, to the sport, when you see players pulling out of matches, passing out,” he said. “I’ve played five-set matches all my life and being out there for a setand-a-half and passing out with heat-stroke, it’s not normal. Having players with so many problems and complaining to the tournament that it’s too hot to play, until somebody dies, they’re just keep going on with it and putting matches on in this heat.”
Andy Murray said organisers were risking a tragedy, saying that the sight of players and ball boys breaking down ‘looks terrible’ for the sport. “Whether it’s safe or not, I don’t know. You just got to be very careful these days,” said the world No. 4 after his first-round win over Japan’s Go Soeda. “There have been some issues in other sports with, you know, players having heart attacks. I don’t know exactly why that is. Or collapsing.”
Chinese player Peng Shuai cramped and vomited during her loss to Japan’s Kurumi Nara, and also received a violation for timewasting at a moment when she said she was unable to walk. “I was just cramping and couldn’t stand up. Both legs, my hamstrings were cramping,” she said. “I had no energy, I couldn’t run, I couldn’t serve. It’s impossible to play tennis like this.”
Officials said because humidity remained low, they chose not to invoke emergency rules which allow them to halt play and close the roofs on the centre and second court. “Of course there were a few players who experienced heat-related illness or discomfort, but none required significant medical intervention after they had completed their matches,” said chief medical officer Tim Wood.
The Australian Open, held at the height of the Melbourne summer, is notorious for its heat. State officials imposed a blanket fire ban and warned of extreme temperatures in some areas on Tuesday. The day’s peak of 42.2 Celsius was shy of Melbourne’s January record of 45.6 Celsius, which came during the notorious Black Friday bushfires of 1936.
To cope, players draped themselves in ice towels and guzzled water on the changeovers as temperatures, already at 35 Celsius before play even started, rose steadily until the early evening.
“It felt pretty hot, like you’re dancing in a frying pan or something like that,” said defending women’s champion Victoria Azarenka. “I don’t think anybody wants to go outdoors right now.”
Daniel Gimeno-Traver helped a ball boy to his chair after he collapsed during the Spaniard’s fourset loss to Milos Raonic. A spokeswoman said the boy later recovered. Former women’s world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki said that when she put her water bottle down on court, the bottom started melting.
“Geez, it feels hot out there,” said Wozniacki, who headed straight for an ice bath after her win over Lourdes Dominguez Lino. “It feels like I was sweating in a sauna or something.”
Empty seats were prevalent as many fans stayed away, perhaps knowing how bad conditions have been in the past. In 2009, the hottest edition on record with an average daily temperature of 34.7 Celsius, reigning champion Novak Djokovic pulled out of his quarter-final with Andy Roddick, citing heat exhaustion. Officials have sought to play down any health risks, pointing out that no player has ever died from dehydration on a tennis court. AGENCIES
BOILING MELBOURNE ON TUESDAY: Maximum temperature 42.2 Celsius HOTTEST EDITION: 2009 — average daily temperature of 34.7 Celsius with defending champ Novak Djokovic pulling out of quarterfinal against Andy Roddick due to heat exhaustion. HOTTEST IN JANUARY: 45.6 Celsius, during the notorious Black Friday bushfires of 1936.
