MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Helping her opponent Marina Stakusic leave court in a wheelchair wasn’t how Priscilla Hon envisioned the scene when she finally returned to the second round of the Australian Open for the first time since 2020.
Hon was leading 1-6, 6-4, 5-3 when her Canadian rival needed treatment for severe leg cramps on ANZ Arena on Monday. The temperature was around 29 Celsius (84 Fahrenheit) and not particularly humid, by local standards in summer.
Stakusic was one of two Canadian players to struggle with cramps on Day 2 of the season’s first major, with men’s No. 7 Felix Auger-Aliassime also retiring from his match with Nuno Borges of Portugal. Borges led 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 after about two hours when the 25-year-old Auger-Aliassime walked to the net to shake hands.
“I can’t recall ever in my life (cramping) this early in a tournament, this early in a match,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I’m OK, but I just started cramping at the start of the third set. Yeah, it became very difficult to be competitive at this level.”
Stakusic was on court for two hours and was in obvious distress when medical staff called for a wheelchair to help her off the court. Hon held the Canadian qualifier’s left leg as she was wheeled toward the exit and the pair were able to talk briefly.
“I really hope she does feel better. That was quite a scene out there,” Hon said. “I had quite a few people come up to me and be, like, ‘Wow, that was so dramatic.’”
Hon said she was comfortable in the conditions, which have been consistently warm but not humid at Melbourne Park.
“I mean, I’m Australian, so I should be quite used to it,” she said. “It was definitely warm out there, and I think as well with the nerves, the stress levels, it just all impacts it.”
Conditions were similar on Day 1 of the tournament, when Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sönmez rushed to the aid of an ailing ballkid during her first-round upset win over No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Sönmez was receiving serve in the ninth game of the second set when a ballkid wobbled, lost balance and stumbled backward with what appeared to be heat-related sickness. The ballkid stood up quickly but started wobbling again, and Sönmez went to the courtside and put an arm around her waist to help her into some shade.
The ballkid was treated and quickly recovered , the tournament said.
Maximum temperatures are expected to be slightly cooler during the first week but increase on Saturday.
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John Pye, The Associated Press
