Tennis: Fans melt under Heineken Open heat

Multimedia Journalist·NZ Herald·

15 Jan, 2015 04:00 PM3 mins to read

Jiri Vesely of Czech Republic who played Donald Young of USA in 43C heat centre court. Photo / Getty Images

Spectator taken to hospital as mercury soars.

A spectator was taken to hospital suffering from dehydration as the heat soared to 43C on the centre court at yesterday's Heineken Open quarter-finals.

It was the hottest day of the week for the tournament. Auckland reached a high of 27C but the court absorbed more heat.

It was slightly cooler in the stands but the temperatures still provided problems for a 64-year-old woman about 2pm while Frenchman Lucas Pouille took on Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

She was treated for dehydration by St John Ambulance staff on site before being taken in a moderate condition to Auckland City Hospital.

The commentator shared with the crowd over the loudspeaker how hot the court was and Open director Karl Budge confirmed the figure.

Spectators find the shade under umbrellas while watching matches. Photo / Nick Reed

He said the tournament was well-equipped to deal with the conditions, offering free filtered water throughout the venue and ensuring fans knew to keep cool.

"We've got SunSmart messages playing, both when you enter the stadium and on the big screen," Mr Budge said. "Our MC also goes through being SunSmart and taking the right precautions to stay hydrated. And we send out an email to all ticket purchasers, saying what to look forward to over the next couple of days, including in that SunSmart messages."

Having worked at the Australian Open in a sweltering Melbourne summer, Mr Budge said conditions this week had been "relatively mild", an assessment with which the players agreed.

Singles semifinalist Lucas Pouille recalled experiencing worse conditions across the Tasman.

"Today was the hottest day of the tournament," he said after defeating Ramos-Vinolas. "Last year I played in Melbourne and it was 45 degrees in the [shade] and 52 under the sun so that was very hard.

"But today was very hard - if you play two or three hours in it could be very, very hard."

He defeated Ramos-Vinolas in straight sets, taking little more than an hour to account for the Spaniard.

Pouille will today play compatriot Adrian Mannarino in the semifinals, another who preached the value of avoiding any extended stays on the court.

"[Yesterday] was a little bit hotter than the other days and I was feeling a little tired at the end of the long rallies," Mannarino said after defeating Colombian Alejandro Falla in straight sets.

ASB Championship runner-up Caroline Wozniacki last week recounted the story of her plastic water bottle melting at last year's Australian Open.

Temperatures are expected to soar in Auckland again today, reaching a high of 27C and 26C tomorrow, the last day of the tournament.