Simona Halep said she felt sick and dizzy during her gruelling Australian Open clash with Alize Cornet in sweltering heat on Monday and admitted she was on the verge of giving up. 

The Romanian two-time Grand Slam winner was visibly struggling as the temperatures hit 33 Celsius (91 Fahrenheit) on Rod Laver Arena. She kept going but lost the gruelling fourth-round clash 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in 2hr 33min, red in the face and frequently bending over to try to catch her breath.