Play should have been called off was the reaction from women's top seed Agnieszka Radwanska who beat Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-4 6-3 on Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals of Sydney International. Perhaps, this is not her personal opinion because the performances of many other players have been affected because of the scorching heat. In-form players could not play to their full capacity as they have to fight scorching heat as well. The Pole player’s anguish was justified if once has to consider the situations that she went through during Tuesday’s play.
During a day when the biggest city in Down Under witnessed temperatures soaring beyond 40 degrees, it was the number four seed in the ATP rankings who appeared to be one of the sufferers of the early summer heat. Luckily, it was the bye she got that she was handed out for the second round that she escaped the wrath of sun that other players have been experiencing for sure. Meanwhile, players like Serena Williams are all geared for the Australian Open to play at their full potential. Williams will be hoping for a second successful stint amidst a new crop of players on an overall.
"I think this is too hot to play tennis," Radwanska told reporters. "Even for players, for ball kids, for the people sitting out there, I think it's just too hot."
Blazing bush fires is not an uncommon sight in the Oz region with the temperature reaching around 43 degrees on any normal day. Perhaps, the conditions were abnormal ever since the New Year Eve. Official reports from the The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM) indicated that the maximum temperature recorded was 41.1 degrees at 13:39 (Local) that proved too costly for the players. There were no prior arrangements made by the players in order to beat the sweltering heat in order to remain on top of their respective opponents.
"When I was warming up at 9:30 it was still okay, but during our match it was pretty hot, especially in the end of the match it was getting worse and worse," added 23-year-old Radwanska.
Meanwhile, there was even more trouble in store for her Chinese counterpart Li Na, who went onto add that she felt like playing in a sauna. However, Li overcame the Japanese challenge by winning over Ayumi Morita 6-1 6-0 in just less than an hour. Interestingly, she followed Radwanska to the court at the Pole’s match.
"I was feeling, I don't know, just feeling like unbelievable. They say it was 40, but even on the tennis court even more," Li said.
"I mean, even didn't finish the match, just finish [the] first set [and] I was feeling my feet already burning."
Considering the fact that Sydney International for all the players get back into form before the actual tournament starts in the form of Australian Open, these heat waves have proved to be hotter than what actually would have been expecting. It would be challenging for the players to play to their full potential with more heat waves in the next few days.
