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Jack Draper criticised Olympic organisers for making players drink “hot water” after wilting in a second-round loss to seventh seed Taylor Fritz.
The 22-year-old began very well but, in the full heat of the sun and with temperatures well over 30 degrees, his challenge faltered and he eventually fell to a 6-7 (3) 6-3 6-2 defeat to end British singles hopes.
A lack of physical durability has been Draper’s Achilles heel and he admitted that he was not able to handle the conditions having so far played through a cool European summer.
But he also hit out at the provisions for players to rehydrate. In an effort to be more environmentally friendly, tennis players are now supplied with refillable bottles, but Draper found himself unable to keep his water cool, and spending the changes of ends standing up at a water fountain.
“It was tough conditions, there’s no doubt about it,” said Draper as he dripped with sweat. “I need to play more in this sort of heat, and obviously, going to America, I’ll get more used to that. It was really hot out there today.
“We were both trying our best to put out some good tennis. Part of it’s physicality but I said to the referee, it’s pretty poor that the players have to drink hot water when we’re playing in those conditions.
“It’s important we have good fridges to keep our water cool. It’s so tough to recover when you’re just not replenishing properly.
“There’s no escape from the heat, even at the change of ends. I haven’t played in much hotter conditions than that. Your body starts to really fight against you.
“We shouldn’t have to fill our water up every change of ends, we need to sit down. It’s not good enough. I just think it’s pretty poor that they put the players through that on court.”
From late in the second set and through the decider, Draper, who had been comfortably the better play during the first half of the match, was barely able to chase down balls.
It might have been a different story had he taken any of nine break points, including six in one game early in the second set, before a double fault handed Fritz the advantage when he broke for 4-2.
The threshold for the extreme weather policy, which permits players a 10-minute break before a deciding set in singles, was reached just after Draper and Fritz walked off court.
The first big shock occurred in the third round of the women’s singles when a tearful Coco Gauff was beaten 7-6 (7) 6-2 by Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic.
Gauff, a US flag-bearer in the opening ceremony, had led 5-2 in the opening set but Croatian Vekic fought back and then broke for 4-2 in the second on a contentious point.
The umpire over-ruled a Vekic shot that had been called out and awarded her the point after deciding Gauff, who subsequently missed her shot, had not been affected by the call.
Gauff, who experienced a similar situation at the French Open, complained bitterly to the umpire and supervisor, claiming she was being “cheated”.
Meanwhile, German Angelique Kerber, who will retire after this event, and American Danielle Collins, who is playing her final season, are both through to the quarter-finals.
