Play to resume on outside courts at Australian Open after extreme heat break

MELBOURNE: Play was set to resume on outside courts at the Australian Open on Tuesday (Jan 17) following a three-hour delay after matches were halted due to extreme heat.

Play was halted at about 2pm local time (11am Singapore time) on outside courts, with the roofs closed on its three main stadiums – Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena.

Organisers said conditions had improved and play was set to resume at 5pm.

With players sweltering in 36 degrees Celsius temperatures, the tournament's five-part heat stress scale hit five.

The scale measures four climate factors – radiant heat (strength of the sun), air temperature in the shade, relative humidity and wind speed.

The lowest level reading is one and the highest five, at which point play is suspended.

"This means play continues until the end of an even number of games or the completion of a tie-break," organisers tweeted.

"No new matches will be called to court. Play on outdoor practice courts is also suspended."

Fifth seed Andrey Rublev brought an end to the Australian Open campaign of former Grand Slam champion Dominic Thiem in the opening round on Tuesday when he overpowered the Austrian 6-3, 6-4 and 6-2 on a sweltering John Cain Arena, Reuters reported.

Thiem, a finalist at Melbourne Park and US Open champion in 2020, is on the comeback trail after a wrist injury and was able to compete only to a certain extent against the power of the rangy Russian.

In a match studded with high quality rallies between the two baseliners, Rublev broke for a 5-3 lead in the opening set, for 5-4 in the second and, after a huge roar, for 2-1 in the third.

Thiem was unable to get a foothold in the contest and the 25-year-old Rublev, a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open in