Jakub Mensik collapsed on court after his second-round win and Novak Djokovic sweltered for almost four hours as players were made to work hard on another hot Paris day at the French Open.
Temperatures reached the mid-30s in Celsius as the heatwave in France continued.
Mensik, 20, was overcome with emotion and cramp as he fell to the floor after beating Argentina’s Mariano Navone 6-3 2-6 6-4 1-6 7-6 (13-11) in four hours and 40 minutes.
The Czech – whose flashes of brilliance in his young career have been beset by injury – was struggling to move and needed eight match points to close out victory.
After he fell the floor, opponent Navone crossed the net to congratulate him and also help him up, but Mensik was unable to move.
The 26th seed lay on the floor for several minutes and was attended to by a number of medical staff, who placed ice packs on his head, neck and chest to help.
An ice pack was also laid on the floor for Mensik to rest his head on like a pillow.
Eventually, Mensik was helped to his feet and was able to walk off court, only to struggle again as he headed towards the locker room.
He was then placed in a wheelchair and taken away – it remains to be seen if he will recover for his third-round match against eighth seed Alex de Minaur on Friday.
Mensik was competing on one of the outer courts at Roland Garros, which offer no shade.
