01/19/26 01:16:00
Printable Page
01/19 01:11 CST Canada's Stakusic leaves court in a wheelchair as Australian
Open warms up
Canada's Stakusic leaves court in a wheelchair as Australian Open warms up
By JOHN PYE
AP Sports Writer
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) --- Helping her opponent Marina Stakusic leave court
in a wheelchair wasn't how Priscilla Hon envisioned the scene when she finally
returned to the second round of the Australian Open for the first time since
2020.
Hon was leading 1-6, 6-4, 5-3 when her Canadian rival needed treatment for
severe leg cramps on ANZ Arena on Monday. The temperature was around 29 Celsius
(84 Fahrenheit) and not particularly humid, by local standards in summer.
Stakusic was one of two Canadian players to struggle with cramps on Day 2 of
the season's first major, with men's No. 7 Felix Auger-Aliassime also retiring
from his match with Nuno Borges of Portugal. Borges led 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 after
about two hours when the 25-year-old Auger-Aliassime walked to the net to shake
hands.
"I can't recall ever in my life (cramping) this early in a tournament, this
early in a match," Auger-Aliassime said. "I'm OK, but I just started cramping
at the start of the third set. Yeah, it became very difficult to be competitive
at this level."
Stakusic was on court for two hours and was in obvious distress when medical
staff called for a wheelchair to help her off the court. Hon held the Canadian
qualifier's left leg as she was wheeled toward the exit and the pair were able
to talk briefly.
"I really hope she does feel better. That was quite a scene out there," Hon
said. "I had quite a few people come up to me and be, like, ?Wow, that was so
dramatic.'"
Hon said she was comfortable in the conditions, which have been consistently
warm but not humid at Melbourne Park.
"I mean, I'm Australian, so I should be quite used to it," she said. "It was
definitely warm out there, and I think as well with the nerves, the stress
levels, it just all impacts it."
Conditions were similar on Day 1 of the tournament, when Turkish qualifier
Zeynep Snmez rushed to the aid of an ailing ballkid during her first-round
upset win over No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Snmez was receiving serve in the ninth game of the second set when a ballkid
wobbled, lost balance and stumbled backward with what appeared to be
heat-related sickness. The ballkid stood up quickly but started wobbling again,
and Snmez went to the courtside and put an arm around her waist to help her
into some shade.
The ballkid was treated and quickly recovered , the tournament said.
Maximum temperatures are expected to be slightly cooler during the first week
but increase on Saturday.
___
More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
|
