‘Feet on fire’ on sun-scorched Aussie courts

Caroline Garcia said her feet were on fire and Dominic Thiem couldn’t wait to get in an ice bath as Melbourne’s searing summer heat took its toll at the Australian Open on Thursday.

The opening Grand Slam of the year routinely challenges players and fans with its fickle weather — it can be 20 C one day and 40 C the next.

This week the heat has been gradually building and it touched 40 C (104 F), with even worse forecast for Friday.

Some players cope better than others in the furnacelike conditions, with third seed Garbine Muguruza one of those who suffered, crashing out in straight sets.

“I think the surface of the court, I don’t know how much heat, it’s terrible, very, very hot, and it’s easy to get blisters and burns,” she said.

“I had a tougher match under the heat in previous years at the Australian Open, but today was — it was hot, but I don’t think was the hottest day.”

French eighth seed Garcia spent three grueling sets in the sun against Marketa Vondrousova before limping to a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 8-6 victory.

“It’s definitely hot,” she said afterwards. “My feet are burning. But we know it’s like this in Australia — the next day it can be freezing.”

The conditions present the ultimate test of fitness and stamina, with organizers only activating the extreme heat policy when the temperature exceeds 40 C and the wet bulb globe temperature index hits 32.5 C.