Daniil Medvedev was struggling so much with the suffocating heat and humidity at the Ariake Tennis Park that at one point the chair umpire,Carlos Ramos,asked him if he could continue playing.
“I can finish the match but I can die,” Medvedev replied. “If I die,are you going to be responsible?”
Afterwards,Medvedev said he felt “darkness” in his eyes. “I didn’t know what to do to feel better,” he said. “I was ready to just fall down on the court.”
The second seed still managed to produce a 6-2,3-6,6-2 win over Fabio Fognini of Italy to reach the quarter-finals.
Spanish player Paula Badosa was less fortunate. She left the court in a wheelchair after retiring from her quarter-final match against Marketa Vondrousova due to illness. Badosa also had to withdraw from a mixed doubles match later with partner Pablo Carreno Busta.
“It’s a shame to end my participation in this way. It’s been a tough ask since day one,we tried to adapt as best we could but today my body hasn’t held up as it needed to,” said Badosa. “I suffered heatstroke as everyone will have seen and I didn’t feel like I could carry on with the game.”