Olympics-Tennis-Bring the heat on, says Greece's Sakkari as temperatures soar
By John Irish and Sybille de La Hamaide
PARIS, July 29 (Reuters) -With temperatures soaring on the Roland Garros courts on Monday some of tennis' elite at the Paris Olympics embraced the upcoming heatwave, while others like Serbian favourite Novak Djokovic was more cautious about what was come.
Just days after the Paris 2024 opening ceremony was drowned in endless rain, the French capital on Monday was sweltering with temperatures in the shade hitting 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).
With Tuesday's temperatures forecast to be around 37 C (98 F) in the shade, the heat emanating from the claycourts is likely to push that even higher for the players.
"It was the best conditions I can play, especially on a claycourt. I loved it," Greek world number eight Maria Sakkari told reporters. "You know, it was so hot. I hope it gets even hotter. So the hotter it gets, the better it is."
She had just brushed aside China’s Yuan Yue 6-2 6-1.
A dejected Rafa Nadal, who had just lost his 60th encounter against Djokovic 6-1 6-4, sought to play down the conditions as a reason for his bruising defeat.
He had taken the Olympic flame from French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane in the pouring rain on Friday, but on Monday he was stepping out into extreme heat admitting that he just didn't have the legs he had 20 years ago.
"In theory that's better for my game even if today I was not able to show that was positive for my game," he said with the doubles the only competition left to fight for alongside compatriot Carlos Alcaraz.
For Djokovic, it was a different story. But he said he was glad to have a day off on Tuesday when the heat is expected to soar.
He said he had prepared for several days to acclimatise for extreme heat conditions before heading to Paris knowing that the weather can be "unpredictable".
"It was pretty hot on the court today. We had some exchanges, some long rallies, but my body and physically I was holding on," he said.
But for Sakkari, despite enjoying the heat, she admitted that the body would need to cool down.
"The Greek team has air conditioning in their room, so we'll be fully recovered," she said.
Reporting by John Irish;
Editing by Alison Williams
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