Although the blue skies from day two made way for a cloudy haze, the conditions didn’t improve on day three as crowds were greeted by an extremely hot and more-humid-than-usual Melbourne Park. With the 108-degree heat fast becoming typical weather for the Australian Open, the crowd arrived today knowing what to expect. Thus, the tennis took back center stage. A straightforward day three schedule coupled with a more spread-out draw meant that the crowds fanned out around Melbourne Park, returning to the show courts only to see competitive matches rather than seed dominations.

An intriguing second-round match pitting France’s ninth seed Richard Gasquet against former world No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko took place out on show court two. The match-up promised to entertain with Gasquet looking to truly announce himself as a threat at this year’s tournament and Davydenko attempting to make the third round of the Australian Open for the first time since reaching the quarterfinals in 2010.

After the nervy first two games, which both resulted in breaks of serve, Davydenko exploded out of the blocks, racing to a 5-2 lead after breaking Gasquet’s serve twice more. In serving for the set however, Davydenko seemed to tighten, and his level dropped as Gasquet broke back twice and eventually took the set in a tiebreak.

After winning the first set, Gasquet was expected to then take the second and run away with the match. However, his trademark shots at times deserted him as he seemed to struggle in the conditions. There was a stage in the first and second sets where Gasquet was requesting the towel after each point. These kinds of conditions meant that he never quite played his best tennis during the match. With a first-serve percentage of just 58%, Gasquet was forced to rely on his ability to hit winners and Davydenko’s tendency to donate errors, which he did in finishing with seven more than the Frenchman.

Gasquet admitted that it was important for his confidence that he came back from being 5-2 down to winning the first set. “(I’m) lucky to win this game and to win (the first set) 7-6 was important,” a very relieved Gasquet said. “I felt better and more confident. It was tough to finish the match, but I tried my best to win.”

He also acknowledged the oppressive conditions experienced on-court. “It’s very tough, very hot, and not so much wind, so it’s more difficult for us because there’s no fresh air,” said the Frenchman. Of course it was very, very difficult to play, so I’m really happy to win in three sets.”

Even after winning the first set, nothing seemed to follow the script for Gasquet, who at times struggled to hold his composure in the hot, oppressive weather. “To be strong mentally and physically, it’s very difficult to play well in these conditions,” he noted.

The focus of the crowds then moved over to Rod Laver Arena, where world No. 1 Serena Williams took on Serbia’s Vesna Dolonc. Unlike the Gasquet-Davydenko match, however, Williams and Dolonc was less a competitive duel than it was a regulation thrashing with Williams completely outplaying the lesser-known Serb.

On the back of a solid first-round win against Aussie Ashleigh Barty on Monday night, Williams showed no signs of being affected by the heat as she romped to a convincing win in her first day match. In a match that lasted just over an hour, it was business as usual for Williams, blasting 24 winners for a 6-1 6-2 while Dolonc didn’t help herself with a 54% first serve percentage and a costly 20 unforced errors.

When asked about whether she felt she was registering enough decent match play before facing tougher opponents in the later rounds, the world No. 1 didn’t seem too eager to discuss anything past the third round. “I actually think I was happy just to get that win under my belt and have a chance to go to the next round,” Williams said.

Asked about the pressure as the heavy favorite for the title, Serena claimed that she always faces pressure, no matter her rank or form. “It always seems like I'm one of the favorites to win. But for me, I look at it as exciting that I have an opportunity to go all the way. But with that being said, I have so many matches I have to win in order to do well and in order to lift the trophy. It's such a long way. I'll just have to play one match at a time,” said Williams calmly.

With the heat relenting if only marginally, the focus shifted to one of the last matches of the day session on Margaret Court Arena between American Sam Querrey and Latvian 23rd seed Ernests Gulbis. This match promised to be a close one, since the head-to-head was 2-2. Their last match on hard court however was won by Gulbis last year at Delray Beach.

In a match won by the player with the lesser unforced error count, Querrey and Gulbis went toe to toe with both of their huge serves and even bigger forehands. In the first set, Querrey didn’t give Gulbis a look at his serve and ran away with it 6-2, hitting nine winners to just three unforced errors. That trend essentially set the tone for the rest of the match, which finished with Querrey hitting 30 winners to just 21 unforced errors. By contrast, Gulbis struck 19 winners to 41 unforced errors.

Often when Querrey plays a good match, his first-serve percentage is high, and that was the story in this match as his first serve percentage never dipped under an amazing 72% against a Gulbis first-serve percentage of just 46%.

Once Querrey took the second set, it was almost a matter of time before he sealed the match against the man ranked 28 places above him. The American acknowledged the importance of getting a good start. “It was good to break in the fifth game, and it’s much easier to play when you’re ahead. You can play a little freer, swing at the ball a little more, and I had that luxury the whole time, which made it pretty nice,” Querrey said.

The 26-year-old also felt that the conditions weren’t too difficult on Margaret Court Arena. “I didn’t think it was too bad today,” Querrey admitted. “Granted, our points were pretty short. We both have big serves, big forehands, and we probably had four rallies over eight shots, but I don’t mind the heat. Yesterday was more dry, and today was a little more humid. But I don’t feel the humidity too much. It’s more of a dry heat which I prefer.”

The American felt that today’s win would rank as one of his biggest wins in the past 12 months. Querrey looked comfortable throughout the match, hitting the ball cleanly and moving well. He put this down to being in a good mental space.

“(I’m) just working hard, and it’s just confidence. Mentally, I’m in a good state of mind. On the court I’m calm, I’m not getting upset, and I’m just feeling good out there,” he said.

With more heat predicted later in the week, the bodies and the minds of these players will be significantly tested in the next round.  Just midway through the first week, endurance already has been stretched near the limit.