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Svetlana Kuznetsova was furious that they shut the roof. Elena Dementieva was perplexed as to why they left it open. And Serena Williams was just happy to have got through an “out of body” experience unscathed.
About the only thing the world’s leading tennis players could agree upon on Wednesday was that they still don’t understand how the Australian Open’s Extreme Heat Policy works.
The policy was first introduced in 2003 and has evolved in the intervening years.
Tournament referee Wayne McKewen invoked the policy shortly before 2pm (AEDT) when the temperature went above 40 degrees Celsius and the complex “wet bulb” reading exceeded 32, ensuring that the roof would be shut for the final two sets of the women’s quarter-final between Williams and Kuznetsova.
The big winner was Williams, who had looked to be flagging in the heat, only to recover and win 5-7 7-5 6-1.
“You can compare her serve with the roof closed and with the roof open,” said Kuznetsova.
“This is it.
“This makes all the difference.
“I saw it was tough for her and it was the same, not very easy for me.
“But I managed to move pretty well, I was fine, I was playing well.”
Kuznetsova vented her anger during the 15-minute break while the roof was closed, but realised it wouldn’t make any difference.
“It’s the tournament’s decision, what would I say?” she said.
“I’m just a player, so I play.
“That’s it – it’s not in my hands.,”
For Williams, the decision to shut the roof was a blessing, as she described much of the first set as “an out of body experience”.
The temperature eventually peaked at 43.2 degrees at mid-afternoon, much as had been forecast.
Which prompted Dementieva, another of the Russian stars, to question why McKewen did not ensure that the roof on Rod Laver Arena was shut all day.
Dementieva and Carla Suarez Navarro spent an hour and a half on court in their quarter-final before the Russian prevailed 6-2 6-2.
“I’m really surprised because when you see the forecast, it’s going to be 41 today, 43 tomorrow, the hottest week in a month, why not to close the roof?” said Dementieva, one of the fittest players on the tour.
“Not only for the players, but for the spectators, as well.
” … it looks like nobody really knows how (the extreme heat rule) really works here.”
Tournament director Craig Tiley said organisers could not react to weather forecasts which were often inaccurate.
The men’s quarter-final between last year’s runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, which followed the Kuznetsova-Williams clash, was played as an indoor match on Rod Laver Arena.
Play was suspended on the uncovered outside courts for much of the afternoon because of the extreme heat.
And there’s unlikely to be any let-up, with the temperatures predicted to exceed 40 degrees for the next two days.
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