The heat

Time for a rant/discussion.

What is the rule?  What has to happen before a match is stopped?  All i can find online is that when the policy is in effect and it allows the women to take an extra 10 minutes break after 2 sets and the men are allowed MTO when needed.  Seriously WTF use is that!  Why not extend the break at changeover, add another minute.  The players would maybe gain more benefit that way.

EDIT - Here we go

Under the tournament's extreme heat policy, players are allowed to request a 10-minute break between the second and third sets if the temperature was above 30.1 Celcius before the match started.

Seriously, that is BS!

I know you cannot help the weather, believe me i have been sat courtside during a rainlashed session last year at the USO, Monte Carlo & Toronto but i have also been sat, again in Toronto last month in extreme heat.  It was cooking at some points in Toronto, so much so that i put up my umbrella to get some shade so God knows what it was like for the players.  At least there it was BO3 not BO5 like it is here.

So what do you do?  Start the matches earlier, 10am like they do at some Masters events?  Change the rule to the point i made before, once a certain temperature/humidity is reached an extra 1 minute per change of ends and maybe an extra 2 minutes at the end of each set is enforced.

Hopefully what was witnessed on Grandstand court today will be an isolated incident and Vik is ok.