Roger Federer’s win over Marin Cilic in the Australian Open final will have been a popular result for most tennis fans. However, a number of pundits and fans alike have been questioning the decision to close the roof at the tournament, with some arguing that such a decision was not necessary and gave an advantage to the Swiss.
Eurosport pundit and former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski was one of those to question the decision to close the roof.
One guy warms up indoors, other warms up outdoors before the finals. Roof is closed. 🤔 This is so wrong for a GS final which is an outdoor event, which means you should have to deal with the elements. So far one sided. I hope Cilic can get back into the match.
— Greg Rusedski (@GregRusedski1) January 28, 2018
Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash also questioned the decision.
Roof closed????? #ausopen isn’t this an outdoor tournament? Fed must of been rubbing his hands… https://t.co/yTY01QviHt
— Pat Cash (@TheRealPatCash) January 28, 2018
Rain was not a factor in the decision to close the roof, however the tournament uses the WetBulb Globe Temperature to stop play when a varying range of factors are met. These include temperature, humidity, and sun position.
The tournament released a statement saying that the WBGT index had reached the threshold of 32.5, the minimum grounds for closing the roof.
The decision is controversial due to the close nature of the index levels, and the fact that when compared to other matches in the tournament, some of the factors did not seem so severe. Temperatures in Melbourne during the final, which took place in the evening local time, touched 37 Celsius, dropping to 35 Celsius as the match progressed, though humidity slightly increased.
Earlier matches in the tournament, notably on Day Four saw a number of players struggle. Gael Monfils was stressed by the temperatures during his second round match with Novak Djokovic, and Alize Cornet also seemed affected the conditions as temperatures went past 42 Celsius. Players including Cornet, and World No.1 Rafael Nadal were critical of the decision to continue play in the heat.
In response to the decision to not close the roof despite the soaring temperatures earlier in the tournament, tournament director Craig Tiley said: “These are professional athletes. We are at the end of the day an outdoor event. We want it to stay an outdoor event as long as possible but at the same time ensuring that the health and wellbeing of players is taken care of.“
