World No 4 Agnieszka Radwanska said it was &ldquo;too hot to play tennis&rdquo; and China&rsquo;s Li Na said it was like a sauna as the Sydney International was hit by a searing heatwave yesterday. <img alt="Agnieszka Radwanska" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2013/jan/Agnieszka.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 702px;" /> Agnieszka Radwanska serves in her second round match against Kimiko Date-Krumm in Sydney. PIC/Getty Images Poland&rsquo;s Radwanska, who reached last year&rsquo;s Wimbledon final, battled fearsome temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) at the Olympic Park complex to brush past Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-4, 6-3. While Radwanska reached the last eight, the major talking point was not the standard of play but the blistering heat ahead of next week&rsquo;s first Grand Slam event of the year at the Australian Open in Melbourne. &ldquo;I think this is too hot to play tennis,&rdquo; said Radwanska. &ldquo;Even for players, for ball kids, for the people sitting out there, I think it&rsquo;s just too hot. u00a0I think I would prefer to go on court at 11:00 pm and play a match,&rdquo; she added. The temperature climbed to a high of 41.4 Celsius (106.5 Fahrenheit) in the early afternoon at the tournament, with cooler temperatures forecast for today. All the day&rsquo;s scheduled matches were completed despite the searing heat. Radwanska said she was trying not to alter her game in the conditions but admitted she had more of a battle with the heat than her opponent.u00a0&ldquo;I think the first main thing is just to stay calm and trying to survive,&rdquo; she said. Li Na, who beat Japanese qualifier Ayumi Morita 6-1, 6-0, said she was reaching for the ice towels at each changeover.u00a0&ldquo;I was feeling like playing in a sauna. At the first changeover I didn&rsquo;t use an ice towel. I was feeling the heat was coming and I was like, &lsquo;What&rsquo;s going on?&rsquo;&rdquo; Li said. &ldquo;At the next changeover I was like, &lsquo;OK, I need an ice towel every changeover, otherwise I don&rsquo;t know how to play on the court&rsquo;. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s too hot, but I&rsquo;m still in the tournament, so it&rsquo;s good news,&rdquo; she added. u00a0The tournament has an extreme heat policy but it only comes into effect at the discretion of the tournament referee.

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Stars slug it out after Sydney International tournament is hit by a searing heatwave 

Players feel the heat in Sydney

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Players feel the heat in Sydney

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