Australia's heatwave halts tennis and has firefighters on alert
Fire officials set the danger rating to ‘extreme’ as the temperature is expected to reach 44°C
Melbourne — Scorching temperatures suspended play at the Australian Open tennis grand slam in Melbourne on Friday, expected to be the hottest day in a decade, as a week-long heatwave brought power outages and left streets bare in the business district. Firefighters went on alert as the mercury crept towards an expected maximum of 44°C, the highest since Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 that killed about 180 people in the south-eastern state of Victoria. “Glam Slam and Australian Tennis Championships matches have been suspended on all outside courts at Melbourne Park and Albert Reserve,” tournament organisers said on social media. It was the second day heat affected play, after the roof at the Rod Laver arena was closed on Thursday for the women’s semi-finals match. But the blistering heat did not stop the world number four, Japan’s Naomi Osaka, from taking to the practice courts early, ahead of Saturday’s women’s final, where she faces the world number six, the Czech Petra Kvitova. ...
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