As temperatures hitting a sweltering 40 Celsius, red-faced players got sweated through at Melbourne Park and Rod Laver Arena during opening days of the 2012 Australian Open tennis tournament, swathing themselves in ice packs wet towels. [Related: Ice, cameras, action under the sun]

The Australian Open, played in the midst of summer, has frequently had problems with extreme heat. High temperatures are forecast to continue this week in Melbourne in the worst heatwave since 1908.