The man himself, Australian tennis legend Rod Laver, cradles the men's singles trophy on the arena which bears his name

Sweat drips from the face of Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro as she struggles to cope with the heat - and Elena Dementieva

Dementieva proves too powerful for her unseeded opponent, despite giving up 10 double faults and a succession of break points

Many spectators have been raiding the local boutiques in search of protection against the scorching sun

Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova keeps a beady eye on opponent Serena Williams as she takes the first set of their quarter-final clash

The heat reaches a height, and officials close the Rod Laver Arena roof for the first time in the tournament

Kuznetsova suffers a painful-looking loss of footing as she struggles to stay in touch with Williams

Williams finally finds her usual energetic form in the third set, rattling past a tired Kuznetsova to reach the semi-finals

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga gives his racquet an accusatory glance as he loses a tight first set in his clash with Spain's Fernando Verdasco

The energetic Verdasco keeps his focus and, despite conceding the second set, goes a break up in the third

Verdasco capitalises as Tsonga's previously devastating serve starts to break down, and the Spaniard makes it through to the semi-finals

Rafael Nadal fans are out in force during his quarter-final against Gilles Simon

Nadal makes a solid start against the Frenchman but is forced to save a set point in the second set

Simon struggles during the opening set and quickly finds himself on the back foot against the world number one

However, it is not all plain sailing and Rafael Nadal is broken twice before he sees out a 6-2 7-5 7-5 win to see him into the semi-finals