Casper Ruud says sweltering conditions made him feel like a ‘zombie’ as he reaches French Open 2nd round
By Emile Nuh, CNN
(CNN) — Two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud overcame extreme heat – and a defiant Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin – to advance to the second round at Roland Garros.
The 15th-seeded Ruud was up two sets and leading 5-2 against Safiullin in the third set, but the 27-year-old Norweigan failed to convert on five match points and eventually lost the third set 7-5, where he was seen moving gingerly back to his chair.
In the midst of losing the fourth set 6-0, Ruud received medical attention after the first and third games, during which he was seen pouring water on his head, wrapping his neck with an ice-filled towel, and rubbing ice on his face.
Temperatures during the three-hour, 56-minute five-set match reached 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit (33 degrees Celsius), according to France’s national weather agency, Météo-France.
“It was kind of heatstroke feeling,” Ruud said afterwards. “I had experienced something similar some years ago when I played in Washington DC, and I had to retire in the third set.
“That’s the only time I had that feeling I had today in the fourth set, where I felt at times really dizzy and walking around like a zombie almost.”
Luckily for the world No. 16, a five-minute heat break after the fourth set, allowing him to get his “pulse and body temperature down as much possible.”
Ruud recovered to comfortably take the deciding fifth set to win the match 6-2, 7-6(5), 5-7, 0-6, 6-2 and advance to the second round, where he will face Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic on Wednesday.
“I’m proud because I never gave in (and) I didn’t give up. I’d rather be out there and lose (6-0 and 6-0) than retire, but it didn’t look pretty there in the fourth,” he said after his gutsy display.
“(But) of course, very happy that I was able to kind of jump start an almost dead body.”
Sweltering European heatwave
The heatwave hitting Europe is set to affect more players across the tournament as the French capital faces continued scorching temperatures.
Météo-France said 352 French towns recorded their highest-ever May temperatures on Monday, while 31 of France’s 96 administrative departments have been placed on “high-temperature alert” until Tuesday.
According to the agency, temperatures could climb to a staggering 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday in what it described as a “premature, remarkable and long” heat episode expected to last several more days.
The extreme temperatures are having deadly consequences. There have been “seven deaths directly or indirectly linked to the heat, including at least five from drowning, as well as deaths related to extreme heat during sports events,” Maud Bregeon, a French government spokesperson, told French TV network TF1.
On Sunday, a 53 year-old man died during a running event in Paris and a woman died at a Hyrox sports event in the city of Lyon, according to the Associated Press citing local media reports.
It’s not yet confirmed if the deaths were heat-related, but France’s Minister of Sports, Marina Ferrari, appeared to make a link saying the deaths were “a stark reminder that practicing sports in extreme heat requires absolute vigilance.”
Despite the sweltering conditions, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka comfortably overcame Spanish qualifier Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2 on Tuesday to advance to the second round.
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