Hot Scot Murray can stand Aussie heat
Murray draped himself in ice packs and then headed straight for the ice bath.
MELBOURNE: Players cramped up in the heat and one was stretchered off on an IV drip -- but Britain's Andy Murray says the Australian Open does not have the worst weather conditions on tour.
Murray draped himself in ice packs and then headed straight for the ice bath after his sweltering win over Portugal's Joao Sousa on Thursday, when temperatures soared to 41 degrees Celsius (106 Fahrenheit).
With Melbourne Park basking in intense sun, Blaz Kavcic collapsed and needed morphine after his nearly five-hour win over Australia's James Duckworth on the same day.
But Murray, in a column for The Australian Saturday, said he found it tougher to play in humid conditions, such as in New York where he won his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open in September.
"One thing about playing in Melbourne is that while it can get really hot at times it does not have the humidity of some of the other tournaments -- it is the sweaty conditions that can really test you," he wrote.
"New York can be really taxing if you get a warm and sweaty day."
Murray said his most taxing match was played in Paraguay, in 44C heat and more than 90 percent humidity. "It was hard. Really hard," he wrote.
Murray added: "The most important thing when you know there is going to be testing conditions is making sure you're prepared.
"When it is 39C to 40C here, I go to great lengths to keep hydrated properly and to eat properly. From 40 hours before the match I am doing everything I can to make sure I am at my peak when I step on the court."
However, Murray should have no such problems when he plays Ricardas Berankis later on Saturday: Melbourne temperatures had slid to a fresh 21C.
