The Australian Open is known for its hot weather, but past years have not seen anything like this, as Tuesday's schedule of play saw temperatures stretch into the 100s, with the thermometer reaching 108 degrees and due to that, players have been collapsing, shoes have been melted and others have been cramping and vomiting due to the heat.
Deadspin.com gave a great run down of what has been going on during the day at the Australian Open and some includes Jo-Wilfried Tsonga having his shoes melt, Yaroslava Shvedova using ice towels, other players cramping on the court and Peng Shuai vomiting on the court. Rafael Nadal and others have spoken about the conditions here before, but so far nothing has been as bad as the weather on Tuesday.
One quote from a player: "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," Frank Dancevic said. "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. I personally don't think it's fair and I know a lot of players don't think it's fair."
Check here for the Australian Open schedule and updates from ESPN on the weather and conditions. Here is more from the day's events on Reuters.com: World number five Juan Martin del Potro advanced to the second round of the Australian Open with a 6-7 6-3 6-4 6-4 win over American qualifier Rhyne Williams in stifling heat on Tuesday.
The towering Argentine, who won the 2009 U.S. Open, is a dark horse to win his second grand slam title having enjoyed encouraging form in the leadup to Melbourne with victory in the Sydney International warmup event.
The 22-year-old Williams, ranked 130 in the world, had other ideas as he matched Del Potro's firepower in a tense first set and closed it out when the fifth seed stumbled in an error-strewn tiebreak.
Del Potro steadied in the second set and cruised to victory in just over three hours to set up a clash with Spain's 62nd ranked Roberto Bautista Agut.
The extreme heat at Melbourne Park on Tuesday caused a ball-boy and men's player Frank Dancevic to collapse during his first round loss, and the Canadian later slammed organizers as 'inhumane' for not suspending play.
"I tried to focus for the match in the worst conditions to play," Del Potro said in a courtside interview. "Really, really hot but the crowd kept me going.
"Hopefully the weather will be better on Thursday."
Del Potro is unlikely to get his wish, however, with the temperatures forecast to exceed 40 degrees Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) for the next three days until a cool change on the weekend. (Reuters)