Melbourne: Australian Open organizers defended their heat policy Friday as Roger Federer downplayed the oven-like conditions on court, saying players should be fit enough to deal with it.
The comments follow suffocating weather at Melbourne Park on Thursday, which some players struggled with, and more of the same on Friday where it was heading to a forecast peak of 42 Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit).
Novak Djokovic on Thursday described the conditions as "brutal", complaining it was hard to breathe and they were "right on the limit".
Organisers will only active the extreme heat policy and halt play or close roofs when the temperature exceeds 40 Celsius and the wet bulb globe temperature index hits 32.5 Celsius.
Tournament director Craig Tiley said the Australian Open was one of the only events in the world to actually have a heat policy.
"The policy is from consultation with the players, and remember in most places, be it the Middle East or others parts where it is very warm, they don't have a heat policy," he said.
"Throughout the site we have ice misters, there's plenty of water. For the players there's ice vests, there's longer periods of rest and they of course have shade on their chairs," he added.
"These are professional athletes. We are at the end of the day an outdoor event. We want it to stay an outdoor event as long as possible but at the same time ensuring that the health and well being of players is taken care of."
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