Players hit by cramp as heat and heartbreak strike at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Jan 19 : Players struggled with cramp and injuries on the second day of the Australian Open on Monday, headlined by the retirement of seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime while his compatriot Marina Stakusic needed a wheelchair to leave the court.

Canadian Auger-Aliassime arrived at Melbourne Park as a genuine dark horse after showing marked improvement on hard courts towards the end of 2025, but the 25-year-old was forced to withdraw when trailing Nuno Borges.

The Portuguese was leading 3-6 6-4 6-4 when Auger-Aliassime was forced to end the contest after he started cramping at the start of the third set.

"It became very difficult to be competitive at this level. I tried for a set but, yeah, wasn't possible today," he told reporters, adding that he was not sure if it had to do with the warm conditions.

"I'm not totally finding the reasons why this is happening. It wasn't happening in the past, so I'll have to figure it out.

"I want to be on the court winning. I want to be on the court competing with my opponent. I don't want to be just standing there like a punching bag."

STAKUSIC COLLAPSES

Australia's Priscilla Hon advanced to the second round after Canadian qualifier Stakusic collapsed on the court in obvious pain when trailing 5-3 in the deciding set.

As tournament officials helped her on to a wheelchair, Hon showed remarkable sportsmanship by coming to her opponent's aid, holding Stakusic's leg to make sure it stayed extended as they wheeled her out of the arena.

"Obviously I didn't want to win like that," wild card Hon told reporters.

"I really hope she does feel better. That was quite a scene out there. I had quite a few people come up to me and be, like, 'Wow, that was so dramatic'."

However, Hon did not feel the