Australian Open: Temperature spike causes outdoor matches to be suspended for 3 hours

While France is trembling, in Australia on Tuesday the thermometer showed 37 degrees. The heat has led to the suspension of Australian Open tennis matches on open courts. For three hours the balls stopped bouncing on the open courts, while the matches continued on the courts of Rod Laver, Margaret Court and John Kane with the roof closed. Competition resumed at 17:00 in Australia (7:00 French time).

On the one hand, the temperature and humidity can make the game difficult or even dangerous during the first Grand Slam of the season, in the middle of the austral summer. To protect the health of the players, the Australian Major implemented the so-called “heat wave” rule. This allows games to be interrupted for ten minutes to allow athletes to cool off, or matches to be suspended until weather conditions are adequate again.

This break did not stop Jeremy Chardy. The Frenchman was leading two sets to one against Daniel Galan when the match was abandoned and finished when it resumed. At 35, Palua reached the second round without being ranked by the ATP, although he did not play on the main circuit in 2022. The same scenario for Benjamin Bonzi, who was about to start the fourth set against Mattia Bellucci. The 48th player in the world won the Italian qualification in four rounds.

American Taylor Fritz, who won in four sets, Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, resigned herself to this heat: “I don’t think it’s so terrible. Playing in Washington DC or the US Open for several years is much more difficult due to the humidity. »