Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Australian Open, Temperatures on Court Eclipsing 120 Degrees
Last edited Thu Jan 16, 2014, 08:05 PM - Edit history (1)
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/news/20140116/australian-open-extreme-heat-mailbag/MELBOURNE, Australia -- They held a heat wave and a tennis tournament broke out.
The fans sweat so much they required outdoor pool permits.
How hot was it? In one player's heat-induced hallucination, he saw Snoopy.
Another player's water bottle started melting into the court.
Ice vests are the new tennis accessory.
But really, folks, it's a dry 111 degrees; it feels like 107, max.
For all the jokes and throwaway lines that flew around Melbourne Park earlier in the week, Thursday turned gravely serious. In kiln-like conditions, players took the court at 11 a.m. It was the hottest day yet, which is saying something: Triple-digit temperatures with no wind or cloud cover, temperatures on court eclipsing 120 degrees. These weren't tennis matches so much as they were physical battles, sadistic tests of the outer limits of human endurance. Fans passed out; ball kids, too. A TV cameraman vomited into bushes. And they weren't the ones chasing after a felt ball for hours on end.
To pick a name among many, consider the fate of American player Varvara Lepchenko, playing 11th-seeded Simona Halep on Court 8. After winning a strong first set, Lepchenko began to feel woozy. By the end of the second set, as temperatures climbed to 110 degrees, she was flat on her back, packed in ice like a fish at the market, as two courtside assistants massaged and tried to cool her off. Lepchenko ended up losing 6-4, 6-0, 6-1. As she staggered to the locker room afterward, a towel filled with ice atop her head, I recognized her look: It was that a of a dazed UFC fighter.
"This is just too much," she said. "They definitely should have just not started the matches in the first place, and same goes for a couple of days ago."
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/news/20140116/australian-open-extreme-heat-mailbag/#ixzz2qbhEKIU2