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5 days ago
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Defending Australian Open champion Madison Keys avoided the worst of Melbourne’s heatwave on Saturday, which is predicted to push temperatures towards 40C, as officials prepare to close stadium roofs and suspend play on outdoor courts under the tournament’s heat protocols.
The focus is now on her men’s counterpart Jannik Sinner, who will be in action as the Melbourne Park heat ramps up, 12 months after he suffered a medical episode under the Australian sun. Sinner lost the first set against American world No 85 Eliot Spizzirri, and was broken again in the second before levelling at a set apiece.
Earlier, Keys brushed past Karolina Plíšková 6-3, 6-3 in just 75 minutes to book a round of 16 clash against Jessica Pegula. The American said although she was ready for the heat, she gave herself a “pat on the back” for navigating a match against the former world No 1 with the minimum of fuss.
“I was excited for the heat today. Being a Floridian, I was ready for it,” Keys said. “Overall, I’m feeling really good and happy to have some clean matches.”
The tournament’s heat stress scale at the end of her match was at 2.4, well short of the level of 5 required to suspend play. The scale is based on radiant heat, humidity, air temperature and wind speed. If a level 4 is reached, a 10-minute break between sets, once per match, is introduced.
Anticipating heat delays, officials brought forward the start of play by 30 minutes on Saturday. The Bureau of Meteorology forecast was for a top of 40C at 5pm, with the mercury rising rapidly in the early afternoon. The temperature was tipped to be 38C as late as 8pm.
Just after midday, prior to Sinner’s third round match against Spizzirri, the temperature was 32C. But by 1pm the temperature was climbing, and the heat stress scale had reached 3.2. An hour later it had exceeded 4, triggering a 10-minute break between the third and fourth sets.
Alex De Minaur, following his victory over Frances Tiafoe on Friday night, said the heat “is going to be a lot”.
“You’ve got to make sure that you hydrate, you eat well, you recover well, make sure [you prepare] everything prior to the match, and as the match is going on, ice towels from the very first game,” he said.
“Make sure you stay in the shade as much as you can, and, yeah, get ready for feeling uncomfortable. But sometimes that’s part of tennis and is one of the factors that play into this beautiful game that we have.”
Jannik Sinner was broken for the first time in the tournament by Spizzirri in the third game, and the Italian was applying multiple ice packs during changeovers and using a personal air conditioner while seated.
During his fourth-round match at last year’s tournament, Sinner appeared to suffer from heat exhaustion, but still managed to beat the Holger Rune in four sets.
Officials are expecting crowds to be down on the middle Saturday – traditionally one of the tournament’s busiest days – due to the heat. As temperatures rose on Saturday afternoon, the water misters and free sunscreen were proving popular.
