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.

PADraper blasted Olympic chiefs for making Tennis athletes drink hot water[/caption]

PAHe fell to American star Fritz to crash out of the Olympics[/caption]

AFPThe Brit cooled himself with a bag of ice in the Parisian heat[/caption]

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.