Two Canadians in action at Australian Open
Posted January 14, 2014 12:24 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MELBOURNE (NEWS1130) – The Canadian contingent was near perfect in round one at the Australian Open.
At the first major tennis tournament of the year, only Frank Dancevic lost his opening round match. Eugenie Bouchard, Vasek Pospisil and Milos Raonic all easily won their matches.
Bouchard and Pospisil are back in action this afternoon. Pospisil is seeded 28th and will face Australia’s Matthew Ebden in the 2nd round. The Vernon native defeated Sam Groth with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win in the opening round.
Bouchard is the 30th ranked player on the women’s side. She takes on France’s Virginie Razzano in her second round match. Bouchard earned a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Chen Tang Hao in her opening match.
The temperatures have soared in Melbourne this week, with yesterday’s high topping 42 degrees celsius. The heat is so bad, that Dancevic collapsed during yesterday’s match and later criticized the tournament for allowing the matches to continue under such an extreme heat.
“I couldn’t keep my balance anymore and I leaned over the fence, and when I woke up people were all around me,” he said. After receiving medical attention, he returned to the match and lost in straight sets.
“It’s hazardous to be out there. It’s dangerous,” Dancevic said, criticizing the tournament for not having suspended play. “Until somebody dies, they’re just going to keep playing matches in this heat.”
The tournament has not yet invoked its “Extreme Heat Policy,” saying the decision is based on a quotient of air temperature, humidity and wind speed.
Pospisil and Bouchard’s matches start at 4 p.m.
