Despite needing medical attention, Holger Rune preserved his hope of qualifying for the season finals in Turin when he booked his ticket for the fourth round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai by beating the Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-4, 6-4.
At the start of the match in the early afternoon local time, it was approximately 34 degrees Celsius and sunny in Shanghai, and it drained both players of energy as the match progressed.
Both the heat and the powerful serves of both players didn't provide the right conditions for a great display of tennis. The duels were often short, and the players took every opportunity to get a little rest in the heat.
However, Rune had a bright start to the first set and didn't seem affected by the heat at that stage of the match.
Rune quickly established a 4-1 lead and seemed to be in full control of proceedings, but then his game seemed to fall apart as he was forced to take a medical timeout.
The Dane steamed off in the shade without a shirt while medical staff took his blood pressure. Rune also requested ice to lower his body temperature.
Back on court, Rune underlined that his level is generally higher than Humbert's despite the heat problems.
The Dane served home the first set and then had a further opportunity to protect himself from the heat as he headed for the locker rooms to cool off before the start of the second set.
Humbert got off to a poor start as he made a blatant error by smashing the ball out of bounds, allowing Rune to break for 2-1.
That break of serve made the difference in a set where neither player had problems holding serve.
Rune will face either Taylor Fritz or the Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who is ranked 37th in the world, in the next round. It will be decided later Sunday morning CET.