Oz blaze choker for tennis stars
A TENNIS star collapsed to her knees coughing and had to quit her match yesterday after bushfire smoke descended on the Australian Open.
Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic was led from the court in Melbourne in tears – an ominous warning of what lies ahead for one of world tennis’s biggest competitions.
Other players were forced to abandon games – or struggled on through the hazardous conditions. Melbourne’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, said the city’s air quality was ‘the worst in the world’ during yesterday morning.
Last night players, commentators and fans were asking why qualifying matches for the Open were allowed to go ahead when environmental protection officials were warning that the bushfire smoke being blown in from 200 miles away was so thick it presented a serious health hazard.
Melbourne residents were told to ‘try to stay indoors, keep windows and doors shut and keep pets inside’.
No such warning was given to players for the first day of qualifying matches, including former world number one Maria Sharapova – who was forced off court by the conditions – world number five Elina Svitolina and former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard. Australian Bernard Tomic called for medical attention in his second set and was heard to tell a doctor ‘I just can’t breathe’ before being given an inhaler. He continued playing, but lost.
After recovering from the coughing fit which cost her her match, Miss Jakupovic, said: ‘I never experienced something like this and I was really scared.’
Miss Sharapova and her opponent Laura Siegemund agreed conditions at Melbourne
Park were so difficult that they needed to stop. Last week, Open officials said they were prepared to deal with hazardous conditions – by confining play to stadiums with retractable roofs and to indoor courts.
Tournament director Craig Tiley insists the health of players, fans and staff ‘is a priority at all times’.
■ The bushfire smoke will circle
Earth and return to Australia, Nasa said. It has already travelled 4,000 miles to Chile. ‘It is expected to make at least one full circuit of the globe,’ the US space agency said.