Tennis: When the heat is on... ... you could try a lettuce leaf under your hat

Tuesday 21 January 1997 00:02 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

These are hardly salad days for the likes of Steffi Graff and Pete Sampras, who have both found the stifling heat of Melbourne heavy going. But advice to tackle the oppressive on-court temperatures is being offered by the Australian cyclist Alan Iacuone. When the heat is on, he puts a lettuce leaf on his head.

On the day that Sampras sweltered through five sets at the Australian Open, Iacuone completed victory in a five-day race and then revealed the secret of his success.

Munching a salad before the concluding hour-long stage, Iacuone decided to put the lettuce under his helmet. Its high water content would keep his head cooler, he reasoned after getting the idea from his Spanish team- mates.

Such Spanish practices would not defeat the other heat victim yesterday: the floodlights, which went out for over half an hour during Thomas Muster's match against Jim Courier.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in