Alizé Cornet and Simona Halep suffered a lot from the oppressive heat early Monday afternoon.
In the middle of the Australian summer, the air temperature was 33°C but it was much higher on the court, in the furnace of the Rod Laver Arena.
So much so that the organization's alert level was 3.5 when, at 5, matches are suspended.
To discover
Australian Open: men's schedule and results
Australian Open: ladies schedule and results
Read alsoAustralian Open: in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time at 32, Cornet has "difficulty realizing"
Trailing 6-4, 3-1, Halep chained a total of six games to lead 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 as Cornet went through a big slump.
At the change of sides at 3-2 for her in the second set, the referee asked the 32-year-old to resume play more quickly.
“
Do you realize how hard it is?
It's crazy, it's inhuman,
”replied the Frenchwoman, at the end of her tether.
Before recovering to ignore the conditions and triumph to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time.
“
After 30 minutes of the match, we were both already cooked but we continued to fight,
she said after qualifying.
I stopped thinking.
I couldn't see clearly, my hands were shaking, but I saw that she (Halep) was no better
”.
