Alex de Minaur’s chances of becoming the first Aussie man into the Australian Open semi-finals since his mentor Lleyton Hewitt took a hit when the schedule was released for Tuesday’s action.
See all the news from Day 10 of the Australian Open below!
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Follow live updates from Day 10 at Melbourne Park below, and scroll down for more news!
MELBOURNE PREPARING FOR HOTTEST DAY SINCE 2009
Melbourne is bracing for its hottest day on record since 2009 as sweltering temperatures prepare to hit the Australian Open.
The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting temperatures to reach as high as 45C at around 5pm.
It could mark the hottest day in the city since Black Saturday in 2009, which resulted in devastating bushfires including 137 fatalities.
It means Melbourne Park will will cop a scorching heat wave that players and officials will both be affected by, with the start of the wheelchair events postponed until Wednesday.
There will be special conditions for tournament staff including ballkids, with the tournament using a Heat Stress scale with five levels to monitor the intense conditions.
At the higher end of that scale, there will extended breaks in play.
In the event that the HSS reaches 5 during women’s or men’s singles or doubles matches, play is set to be suspended on outdoor courts once a an even number of games is reached in a set.
If the HSS reaches 5 in arena courts, the roof will be closed.
If the HSS hits 4, the tournament will use “approved cooling measures and/or attend designated cooling rooms/showers” including the potential for 10-minute breaks in women’s singles matches.
Aussie Alex De Minaur, who faces world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-final at 8.10pm, says he’s acclimatised to the conditions.
“I’m Aussie. I don’t mind the heat. I have said it since day one. That’s just what I have grown up with, and I’m ready for these types of conditions,” he said on Sunday.
De Minaur added that closing the roof at Rod Laver Arena would be “pretty perfect conditions”.
“I had the chance to play with the roof closed when it started raining in my match against Hamad (Medjedovic), and I played at a pretty good level there,” the 26-year old added.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, said he can only “control the things I can control”.
“If it is going to be really, really hot on Tuesday and the roof is going to be closed, I got to accept that and just try to play my best tennis on indoor,” the Spanish star said.
DAY 10 PREVIEW
Alex de Minaur’s chances of becoming the first Aussie man into the Australian Open semi-finals since his mentor Lleyton Hewitt took a hit when the schedule was released for Tuesday’s action.
The No.6 seed will face world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz in the second match of the night session, as the quarter-finals get underway on Day 10.
But that means de Minaur won’t have the advantage of playing in the Aussie heat with temperatures tipped to reach a staggering 45 degrees in Melbourne, peaking at around 5pm.
It was always likely de Minaur and Alcaraz’s match would be played at night, to satisfy the local broadcasters.
But even playing first in the night session would have meant warmer conditions, allowing de Minaur to try and outwork Alcaraz – who is obviously rather fit himself, but not used to the Aussie heat having never gone past the quarter-finals here.
Alcaraz cruises through to AO quarters | 01:36
Under the Australian Open’s heat policy the roof will be closed on Rod Laver Arena as soon as conditions get too uncomfortable – as occurred at around 2:30pm on Saturday when the temperature was around 36 degrees.
It’s predicted to be that hot at Melbourne Park by around 1pm which means women’s world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka’s clash with 18-year-old American prodigy Iva Jovic – which opens the day session – could be interrupted.
It’s almost certain the first men’s quarter-final of the day, reigning finalist Alex Zverev against Learner Tien – the youngest men’s quarter-finalist here since Nick Kyrgios – will be played under the roof.
The night session opens with American world No.3 Coco Gauff against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN DAY 10 ORDER OF PLAY
Men’s and Women’s Singles Quarter-Finals
Rod Laver Arena
Day session from 11:30am
[1] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) vs [29] Iva Jovic (USA)
Not before 1:30pm
[3] Alex Zverev (GER) vs [25] Learner Tien (USA)
Intentionally Blank (doubles match could be moved here)
Night session from 7pm
[3] Coco Gauff (USA) vs [12] Elina Svitolina (UKR)
[1] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) vs [6] Alex de Minaur (AUS)
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