Aust Open fire crisis worsens

The Australian Open has been thrown into crisis less than a week before it is due to start after a player collapsed in qualifying due to the ‘‘unhealthy’’ air in Melbourne from bush fires, triggering a chorus of outrage about the organisers’ decision to press ahead.

The unfortunate player – Slovenia’s Dalila Jakupovic – later spoke of her fear as she found herself unable to breathe during her first-round qualifying match on Tuesday, declaring herself ‘‘angry and sad’’ that she had been asked to go on court, despite an air-quality reading rated as ‘‘hazardous’’.

On a chaotic day in air conditions rated ‘‘the worst in the world’’, Maria Sharapova called off her exhibition match after fewer than two sets, while Eugenie Bouchard left the court after struggling to breathe and Elina Svitolina, the world No 5, asked: ‘‘Why do we have to wait for something bad to happen?’’ before the authorities take action.

With five days to go until the start of the main event, it has emerged that Tennis Australia’s contingency plan for dealing with more bush fire smoke over the next three weeks is also being called into question.

The eight indoor courts in the National Tennis Centre at the south-east corner of the site have been seen as a potential escape route in the case of consistently polluted conditions.

But when Great Britain’s Jay Clarke tried to warm up for his match in the NTC, he found the courts unusable after smoke found its way in through the ventilation system.

‘‘There was talk of it [the qualifying matches] moving indoors,’’ said Clarke, who later suffered a hip -injury and lost in three sets.

‘‘But we actually went over to the NTC and it was worse. They have got permanent vents open, so when it [the smoke] got in it wasn’t able to get out.’’

Air quality has declined over the last week and an easterly wind change yesterday morning brought a fresh wave of smoke in from the many fires burning in East Gippsland, 200 miles away.

Brett Sutton, Victoria’s chief health officer, said that Melbourne’s air quality had dropped to ‘‘the worst in the world’’ overnight as cooler temperatures brought particles in the air closer to the ground.

The City of Melbourne issued warnings to stay inside wherever possible, while the day’s horse racing was cancelled and local Australian rules football teams postponed practice.

Builders were also recommended to down tools, but Tennis Australia’s main response was to delay play for an hour on the first day of qualifying, so that it started at 11am, rather than 10am.

Although conditions seemed to improve a little in that period, they worsened again around lunchtime, and it was at 2.30pm that Jakupovic, a 28-year-old ranked No 180 in the world, fell to her knees while leading her match 6-4 5-6. She retired almost immediately.

‘‘I think it was not fair because it’s not healthy for us,’’ Jakupovic said, when she felt well enough to speak to reporters almost two hours later.

‘‘I thought we would not be playing today. We don’t have much choice.

‘‘If we don’t go on the court, maybe we get fined. It would maybe have been better to wait to see if tomorrow is better.’’

– The Telegraph, London