Melbourne’s terrific heat has already impacted the health of two ATP players of the ongoing Australian Open. These players are the Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesely and England’s Jack Draper. Vesely was playing his match against Arthus Fils when suddenly he collapsed due to heat. This incident has truly made many ATP players anxious over their performance in the heat.

On the other hand, Jack Draper was competing against Marcos Giron. However, on the second set of the match, he was spotted visibly struggling with Melbourne’s massive heat. Previously also many players suffered due to immense Australian heat during the Grand Slam tournament. That is why the committee has focused on bringing changes to the structure. Nevertheless, this time also Australian Open 2024 showed two more victims of heat from tennis.

Vesely and Draper struggled to play under the extreme heat of Melbourne

Recently a reliable tennis journalist and commentator shared on their official X (formerly Twitter) that Jiri Vesely collapsed while giving a tough fight to opponent Arthur Fils. Sharing the news, he added- “Vesely pushing Fils very hard but struggling. Physio and doctor called.” This source also added a picture where Vesely was spotted with a painful facial expression receiving instant treatment from his medic.

This commentator further shared the news of Draper, adding his picture. Fans spotted Draper’s face turning red due to heat and the medic team trying to comfort him. Sharing the photo, this source added- “Draper struggling with the heat too. Calls the doctor.”

Draper gets sick after winning against Giron.

Melbourne’s unpredictable weather has been an issue in the 2023 Australian Open as well. Last season many matches were paused and shifted due to Australia’s scorching sun and torrential rain. While many matches had to be shifted to Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena, or John Cain Arena since these are indoor stadiums, this time heat once again took down two players.

Well, Coco Gauff’s coach Brad Gilbert has already shed light on Melbourne’s heat and its effect on players in AO 2024.

Gauff’s coach Gilbert seems to already predict the ongoing situation due to the Australian heat

Since Melbourne’s temperature is hitting 100 degrees Fahrenheit at times, the committee has come up with an Extreme Heat Policy for the tournament. However, that is visibly not working out for the tennis players. Brad Gilbert, who is the famous coach of Coco Gauff recently dropped his bits about the weather. He said-“Why you seeing some players struggling today temps in low 80’s, the warmest day since I have been here for 8 days, normally low 80’s in Melbourne is win, can easily be high 90’s for a lot of days @AustralianOpen.”

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He spoke about how he always faced such high temperatures in Melbourne during the tournaments. More importantly, his comment concerns the fans thinking that the situation might get worse after this because the temperature keeps increasing in Melbourne.

Despite the committee’s Extreme Heat Policy, Vesely and Draper suffered majorly due to Melbourne’s extreme heat. It feels like now the committee should seriously pay attention to the players’ health and bring all the necessary measurements for this prestigious tournament.

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