Player tweets picture of himself hooked up to a drip

If you thought you had it tough surviving another scorching Melbourne day, spare a thought for the players sweating it out at the Australian Open.

With the temperature in Melbourne hovering around 40 degrees for most of Thursday, needless to say a five-hour game of tennis would leave you feeling a little drained.

And that's exactly what Aussie James Duckworth and Slovenian Blaz Kavcic had to endure, with the home favourite losing a thrilling match in five sets.

Despite being happy with the win, the heat took plenty out of Kavcic.

The 25-year-old tweeted a picture of himself after the match - hooked up to a drip.

"Total physical collapse after the match. feeling quite happy though, just don't know, because of my win or morphine :)", he said.

Kavcic later tweeted that he was "just kidding" about receiving morphine, with officials confirming he had been given a muscle relaxant.

And Kavcic's reward for his day in Melbourne's sauna?

Apart from some extra prize money, he will now have to take on the small matter of No.7 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Saturday.

Thankfully for both players, the weather bureau is predicting much milder conditions for the weekend.