French Open Hit by Heat Scare After Ball Girl Falters Mid-Match During Andrey Rublev’s Match

It was only last week that chaos had erupted at the French Open qualifiers due to the rainy conditions in Paris. Several matches had been delayed or suspended due to relentless rain during the first two days of the qualifiers. However, the weather had gotten way better by the time the main draw arrived as the sun was shining brightly at the French capital. But as the temperature soared as high as 33°C on both Sunday and Monday, the extreme heat created chaos on the clay-courts of Paris.

One of the most concerning moments from the opening days of the French Open unfolded during the match between Andrey Rublev and Ignacio Buse on the second day of the main draw. Rublev had taken the opening set 6-3 and was already putting pressure on Buse’s serve early in the second when the match was suddenly interrupted by a worrying incident on the court.

As the heat intensified, a ball girl collapsed after reportedly suffering from heat stroke. The chair umpire immediately rushed over to help before she was escorted off the court to loud applause from the crowd.

Soon after, the conditions appeared to take a toll on the players as well. Buse requested a medical timeout while trailing 1-2 in the second set, with a doctor coming on court to check his vitals. The issue was believed to be heat-related, and he was given treatment before resuming play.

Only a few games later, Andrey Rublev also called for a medical timeout, with the Russian seemingly struggling in the intense heat as well. He, too, received medical attention and medication before play eventually resumed.

As a result, the play was halted multiple times during the second set. With both the players finding it very hard to play under the hot conditions, there was nothing to separate them and the set eventually went into a tiebreaker. Buse elevated his game with the set being on the line and clinched the tiebreaker 8-6 to level up the match.

However, Rublev took the lead in the third set. The World No. 13 played brilliantly while fighting the heat and took the third set 6-3.

This is the second day in a row that players have been affected due to the severely hot conditions. The first day was no different as the match between Roland Garros debutant Arthur Gea and Karen Khachanov had to be halted due to a health concern.

Arthur Gea takes medical timeout due to an unexpected problem

As Gea was serving at 1-4 in the first set, he encountered a major problem. Turns out that the Frenchman wanted to take a bathroom break mid-game. As the game lingered on and got leveled up 40-40, things became desperate for Gea, and he couldn’t help but take a medical timeout.

“I’ve got the runs, I need to go to the bathroom, I can’t move anymore, I’m gonna sh*t on the court,” Gea was heard saying during the match.

After a 6-3, 7-6, 6-0 defeat to Karen Khachanov, Gea revealed that he had already been unwell before stepping on court, having taken medication for stomach pain ahead of the match. However, the extreme heat in Paris only worsened his condition, eventually forcing him into a medical timeout and an emergency bathroom break during play.

“During the match, it was even worse. I had to go to the toilet really quickly. It was harder than usual, because I was ill,” he said after the match. With temperatures in Paris expected to remain consistently high throughout the week, concerns are growing over how players will cope with the extreme conditions at the French Open.

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