Boris Becker: Let’s hope for a cooler second week

I don’t think anyone at the Australian Open will ever want things to hot up at the tournament ever again.

I have been coming here for nearly three decades now and this is really the hottest Melbourne summer I have ever faced. Thank God, then, that the matches of Novak Djokovic have been mercifully short.

In fact, all the top seeds on both sides seem to have had smooth rides through the first week of the tournament.

I have a feeling all the seeds came with their ‘A’ game to ensure that they did not have to play for longer than necessary.

The most compelling match of the week was possibly Saturday afternoon’s encounter between two players we are going to hear a lot about in years to come.

Grigor Dmitrov overcame Milos Raonic in a very high-quality match that ended in an absorbing tie-breaker.

Only two young men could have played that quality of tennis in such sapping conditions.

Raonic is a player I have a lot of time for, but Bulgarian Dmitrov was quite excellent.

Looking across the men’s draw, Rafael Nadal has been looking ominously good. He is in prime fitness and has handled the heat well, as has Roger Federer, who made short work of his third-round match.

With all the seeds moving up, the next week looks really absorbing, with the other half of the draw seeing a lot of action involving Federer, Nadal and Andy Murray.

Murray has been looking quite efficient even though he is returning from injury. Feliciano Lopez is a tricky customer but Murray disposed of his challenge with a commanding performance.

Murray likes the Australian Open and has made the final on a couple of occasions. This was the best place for him to get back from injury.

Across at the women’s draw, Serena Williams has been looking in awesome form. The heat, the opposition, nothing seems to stop the American as she strides into the second week. Maria Sharapova is also looking good but seems to have struggled with the extreme conditions.

The heat has been the main talking point of the Australian Open so far. I hope that changes in the next week. I know the players are supposed to be in prime fitness and ready for these conditions, but with barely a day to recover between matches, it really becomes extremely hard.

Remaining hydrated and taking in a lot of fluids even on an off-day is imperative for players who need to take the court within 48 hours of their last game.

— Gameplan