Extremely hot and humid conditions have been the story throughout the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
There have been seven retirements through four rounds, most notably from Terence Atmane in the first round and Jannik Sinner in the third. Atmane called it quits at 4-4 in the opening set against Camilo Ugo Carabelli due to “heat stress.” Sinner battled Tallon Griekspoor into a final set before being felled by serious cramps while trailing 3-2.
“Today, after the first point of the match, both my hands were shaking,” Atmane posted on social media. “I thought, ‘Well, maybe I’m more stressed than usual.’ After the second game and a comfortable 2-0 lead, I immediately felt my whole body shaking.
“I was choking after every point to the point where I could hardly breathe, and my head was aching. I felt like no matter what I did, I just could not breathe. I immediately called the physiotherapist, but no words came out of my mouth.
“I was panicking and shaking. It was impossible for me to remember where I was or tell what day of the week it was. My body sent me a signal, the signal to stop immediately. I’m still confused about what happened today, and I do not remember much. The heat stress I faced today could have been worse than losing consciousness for an hour and having heart palpitations.”
Whereas the four Grand Slams that are run by the ITF implement heat guidelines that allow players to take breaks under certain circumstances, the ATP that governs the rest of the tournaments play by their own rules. ATP supervisors at a particular event decide if extended breaks or suspensions of play are necessary.
“I think there should be a heat rule like there [is] in the Grand Slam,” Holger Rune said after beating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in three sets on Wednesday. “I think every player would agree on that. Today was better…today was less hot. But, again, it was less hot, but if it was [a hotter] temperature today, [it would have been] very hot. I think it was like 31 degrees (Celcius) and very humid. Compared to the other days, it was pretty brutal.”
“Brutal” is exactly how one could describe the battle between Daniil Medvedev and Learner Tien on Wednesday night. Medvedev won 7-6(6), 6-7(1), 6-4 after two hours and 52 minutes of grueling tennis despite dealing with cramps.
This tournament is all about surviving and advancing. That’s what Medvedev did against Tien, but it remains to be seen what he will have left in the tank for the quarterfinals on Friday–when conditions are sure to be rough once again.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.