The organizers of the Australian Open have taken the extraordinary decision to cancel the matches of the lunch session of the tournament because of the heat in Melbourne.
Temperatures crossed 30 degrees Celsius and this led to the suspension of all matches played on courts without a roof. Only indoor ones continue.
“The heat scale at the Australian Open has reached level 5 and all matches played outdoors are suspended. New matches on free courts will not start. All outdoor training is also suspended,” announced the hosts of the year’s first Grand Slam tournament.
The AO Heat Stress Scale has reached 5 and play will be suspended on the outside courts. This means play continues until the end of an even number of games or the completion of a tie break. No new matches will be called to court. Play on outdoor practice courts is also suspended.
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 17, 2023
Matches continue only on the indoor courts “Rod Laver”, “Margaret Court Arena” and “John Kane”.
The decision came just before the start of the clash between Andy Murray (Great Britain) and Matteo Berretini (Italy) at Rod Laver, allowing the meeting to start with the roof down.
