Team GB star Jack Draper blasts ‘not good enough’ Paris 2024 Olympics chiefs after melting in devastating heat
JACK DRAPER blasted Olympic chiefs for making tennis players drink hot water as the sweat-drenched Brit melted in the intense heat of Roland Garros.
Temperatures climbed above 30 degrees celsius on Court Suzanne Lenglen as Draper suffered a 6-7 6-3 6-2 defeat by American seventh-seed Taylor Fritz to end British hopes in the singles events.
British No 1 Draper was fuming at the lack of cold water and the fact that he had to stand up to refill his bottle between ends, rather than taking a much-needed breather.
Draper, 22, said: “I told the referee it’s pretty poor that the players have to drink hot water when we are playing in those conditions.
“We did have ice towels but it’s important we have good fridges to keep our water cool. It’s so tough to recover when you are not replenishing properly.
“There was 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, I definitely feel Fritz dealt with it better than me.
“You can refill your bottles but at the change of ends but after playing tough points and running around, I ended up not sitting down because I was refilling my drink.
“At all other tournaments you have fridges and coolers with ice. It’s not good enough.
“That court has no shelter even when the umbrellas are on you, your legs are in the sun. It felt like there was no escape from it.
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“A lot of it is physicality and getting used to it but I think it is pretty poor they put us through that.
“It was really hot out there and we were both trying to put out some good tennis but there were times when we were both struggling.
“It is a shock to the system when you are put in extreme heat – a lot of players don’t sweat too much but the people who are losing so much water, we struggle a lot more.
“People are struggling to sit in it and watch, let alone play.”
Draper, ranked 27th in the world, started in assured form, comfortably winning a first-set tie-break.
But the Londoner squandered six break points in the third game of the second set, at which point Fritz peppered him with unerringly accurate serves to clinch victory.
Tennis stars’ new careers
PLENTY of tennis stars have stayed involved in the sport since retiring.
But others pursued very different careers. Here are some of the best…
- I reached French Open and Wimbledon finals as a teenager but I quit to become a nun
- I won Wimbledon mixed doubles with my sister but got fed up with English weather so now run luxury B&B
- I was tipped for stardom aged 12 but retrained to become high-flying lawyer
- I earned £9m and won French Open before setting up bistro with Brazilian model girlfriend
- I’m last Frenchman to win Roland Garros, now I’m singer with six albums hitting No1 in charts
- I’m former world No1 but quit aged 29 – instead I went on to play professional poker and golf
- I was destined for the top but swapped lobs for labs as award-winning Harvard physicist