As smoke from bushfires blanketed the start of Australian Open qualifying, organisers came under heavy criticism from players forced to brave brutal conditions.

Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic collapsed and had to abandon her match when she could take no more, despite being close to victory against No 11 seed Stefanie Vogele when the first round of the qualifying event got underway yesterday.

While she described herself as ‘sad and angry’ after recovering, Britain’s Liam Broady and Jay Clarke told of their struggles to cope with lungfuls of toxic air combined with stifling heat.

Dalila Jakupovic was in tears on the floor after being unable to continue at the Australian Open

#AusOpen practice was temporarily suspended this morning due to poor air quality.



Qualifying matches will begin at 11am.



Conditions onsite are improving and we are monitoring them constantly. — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2020

Clarke, the British No 5 from Derby, revealed he had been told to prepare to play indoors, but that air vents were letting in too much smoke to make it feasible. A ballgirl was taken off with heat exhaustion during Clarke’s three-set defeat by Blaz Kavcic.

With the wind creating a smoky haze derived from the massive blazes in eastern Victoria, Jakupovic took an inhaler on to the court to help but to no avail.

The first day’s play went ahead after an hour’s delay, despite locals being advised to stay indoors and horseracing being called off at nearby Werribee. Construction workers in the city were told to down tools.

Tennis Australia insisted their on-site experts had declared the playing environment safe at Melbourne Park, and that it had liaised with representatives of the men’s and women’s tours.

Australian player Bernard Tomic called a medical timeout after breathing difficulties

Air quality is likely to be an ongoing issue at the Open with no end to the fires in sight

Jakupovic was unimpressed, saying: ‘It was really bad. I never experienced something like this and I was really scared. I was scared that I would collapse. That’s why I went on the floor, because I couldn’t walk any more. I’ve never had asthma before.

‘It was not fair because it’s not healthy. I thought we wouldn’t be playing today. We don’t have much choice. If we don’t go on the court, maybe we get fined. It would maybe have been better to wait to see if tomorrow is better. They still have time, there’s no rush.’

Broady went down 6-3, 6-0 to Ilya Ivashka of Belarus and also suffered in smoggy air and heat well into the thirties, accompanied by humidity. ‘I’d like to think I’m properly fit and after four games I was absolutely gassed,’ said the British No 6.

‘At 6-3, 3-0 down, when you’re supposed to be relatively fresh, I was bent double and gasping for air. My fitness is one of the best parts of my game but I definitely didn’t feel great.

Maria Sharapova's exhibition match in Kooyong was effected by smoke from the bushfires

Sharapova (left), with Laura Siegemund, talking to officials before the game is called off

‘I was surprised by how bad it was when I was walking out to the court. I had been inside from 10 o’clock for three hours and, because they had decided to go ahead, I thought it would have cleared up a lot. You can hardly see the buildings over there.’

He was not alone in thinking that top players may not have been asked to play. ‘I don’t think qualifiers are treated the same way,’ he added. ‘Maybe we have to earn the right to be treated like the main draw players but we are all human beings.’

Australia’s Bernard Tomic lost to American Denis Kudla and questioned the umpire during his defeat. ‘No air’s going in, I’m getting tired so easy,’ Tomic told the trainer and doctor during a medical timeout. ‘I just can’t breathe.’

In what is a potential blow to the event given the scale of the fires Clarke suggested that Tennis Australia’s previous throwback position of moving matches inside to avoid the worst of the conditions was futile. ‘There was talk of it moving indoors but we actually went over to the National Tennis Centre and it was worse,’ he said. ‘They have got permanent vents open so when the smoke got in it wasn’t able to get out, so no players were practising indoors.’

The Slovenian is helped from the court by medical staff and later said she felt 'scared' on court

Brit Liam Broady lost his qualifying match and also found the conditions tough to play in

At 9am Victoria’s Environmental Protection Authority had advised Melburnians to ‘try to stay indoors, keep windows and doors shut, and keep pets inside’. The air did improve after the 11am start, but deteriorated again in the afternoon.

‘This is new for all of us,’ said Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley, who was evasive on whether or not on-court officials should be issued with face masks. ‘We follow the advice of medical experts and environmental scientists and the health and wellbeing of the players, fans and staff is crucial to the decisions we make.

‘This morning when we got up, the smoke haze was significant. Based on that advice we took a decision to suspend practice, and to start the qualifying matches an hour later than scheduled.’

He will be hoping the expected fall in temperatures and change of wind direction materialise.

Players were told not to practice outside due to the fog that has descended over Melbourne

Tournament director Craig Tiley (right) said he has followed the advice of medical experts