Rafael Nadal is urging Australian Open organisers to protect the players and close the stadium roofs during matches if the expected heat wave that is set to hit Melbourne is deemed extreme.
The world No. 1, who claimed a convincing 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer to reach the third round on Wednesday, said he’ll be practicing indoors on Thursday to avoid the tough hot and humid conditions of Melbourne.
Temperatures are expected to rise over 40°C over the next two days and Nadal hopes officials at the tournament make the right decisions when it comes to the safety of the players. Three of the courts at Melbourne Park have retractable roofs, which would allow matches to continue irrespective of the weather conditions.
“Well, only thing that I hope, if is extreme conditions, I hope the organisation puts the roof. That’s all. I think is a health issue. Even I like sometimes play with hot. When is too much, becomes dangerous for the health,” said Nadal.
“I would not like to see here retirements. Conditions that create a bad show for the crowd. The crowd is suffering to there. In the courts that we have the roof, why not put the roof when the conditions are so extreme?
“By the way, I going to practice indoor tomorrow.”
The Australian Open’s ‘Extreme Heat Policy’ dictates that the decision to suspend play “is made at the referee’s discretion”.
“A roof will only be closed because of extreme heat if a decision has been made by the referee to suspend the completion or commencement of matches on the outside courts,” says a statement on the tournament’s official website.
.@RafaelNadal was very thankful of the @RodLaverArena crowd support in his post-match interview.#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/fWyXbaxOMu
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 17, 2018
Nadal got broken while serving for the match against Mayer on Wednesday but was otherwise untroubled during his two-hour 38-minute victory. He next takes on Bosnian No. 28 seed Damir Dzumhur for a place in the last-16.
Nadal retired ill during his only previous meeting with Dzumhur, in Miami in 2016.
“He improved a lot from there,” Nadal said of Dzumhur.
“He is a tough opponent. He’s a tricky one. He knows how to play tennis very well. He play with the right tactic always. Is a player that don’t going to give you nothing, no? The only way to win is play in a high rhythm than him and try to play aggressive, try to put the highest intensity possible out there. That’s what I going to try. Hope to be ready to make that happen.”
