September 7th 2023.
The US Open has been a brutal test of skill and endurance for players this year. The extreme heat and humidity in New York has left many of the world's top athletes struggling to keep cool.
Daniil Medvedev, the two-time Grand Slam champion, made his feelings on the playing conditions crystal clear. During his quarter-final match with fellow Russian Andrey Rublev, Medvedev looked straight into a camera and warned: "One player is going to die and they're going to see."
At one point during the match, the temperature reached a staggering 37C with a humidity of 43%, leaving players with no choice but to resort to extreme measures to keep cool.
The Met Office has forecasted that the temperature will be 30C by the time Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova take to the court for the women's semi-finals on Thursday. However, the heat is not expected to drop much below 27C by the time Sabalenka and Keys emerge onto Arthur Ashe.
The men's semi-finals on Friday and the women's final on Saturday are forecast to be played amid temperatures of around 28C and 26C respectively. The men's final on Sunday should bring some relief with temperatures of around 25C.
Medvedev elaborated on the conditions in his post-match press conference, saying: "It was brutal. At the end of the first set I couldn't see the ball anymore. I just saw Andrey in the locker room and his face was very red so I guess it's the same." Even after the match, Medvedev was still feeling the effects of the heat, describing how he had to eat to stop himself from feeling "shaky."
It's clear that the players at this year's US Open have had to endure extreme heat and humidity, and will need to continue to battle the elements over the next few days as the tournament reaches its climax.
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