Daniil Medvedev blasted the playing conditions during his US Open quarter-final with Andrey Rublev and warned the scorching temperatures in New York could result in a player fatality.
Medvedev, who claimed victory at Flushing Meadows two years ago, turned to a TV camera mid-match and complained: ‘One player is going to die and they’re going to see.’
At one point during the all-Russian clash on Arthur Ashe, which Medvedev won 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, the mercury reached a staggering 37C with a humidity of 43% to compound the misery.
The brutal conditions are in keeping with the weather endured throughout much of the Grand Slam tournament so far, with players resorting to extreme measures to keep cool.
Let’s take a look at the forecast for the remaining four days of competition as the lingering heat and humidity of a New York summer brings some of the fittest athletes in the world to their knees.
How hot is it in New York for the US Open?
The good news for Coco Gauff Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s final today – September 9 – the weather will be slightly cooler today.
But the bad news is that it won’t be by much.
According to the Met Office, the temperature will be 26C by the time Gauff and Muchova take to the court at around 9pm BST.
Sunset at around 7.18pm local time should help, but the heat is not expected to drop much below 27C by the time Sabalenka and Keys emerge onto Arthur Ashe.
The temperature for the men’s finals on Sunday, featuring Novak Djokovic and against Danill Medvedev, will be around 28C.
The average temperature for New York in September is 25C.
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What exactly did Daniil Medvedev say?
Medvedev used his post-match press conference to elaborate on the conditions endured in New York.
Medvedev said: ‘It was brutal. The only good thing I see in these conditions is that both suffered. It’s tough for both of us.
‘There were some ups and downs. At the end of the first set I couldn’t see the ball anymore. I played with sensations, tried to run, tried to go for it, tried to hit the ball. We were tired all the time. It was super tough to win.
‘I have no skin left on my nose. Here it’s red but it’s not because of the sun, it’s not like you’re burned.
‘I just saw Andrey in the locker room and his face was very red so I guess it’s the same. That tells everything, like we left everything out there.
‘I’m just pretty exhausted. I did a couple of interviews there and straightaway it was tough. I was with an ice towel there.
‘Everything was foggy, like I couldn’t see clearly. Because the match is over, the adrenaline is not there anymore.
‘I was a little bit shaky. Then I come to the locker room. I sat there for 10, 15 minutes, did a quick ice bath, changed and went to eat.
‘But I had my sugar levels go up. I started sweating, my head started turning. I said to my team, ‘Please bring me any food’.
‘I was sitting there sweating like hell with the air conditioning on. They brought some food and then I felt better.’
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