Melbourne has had a benign January weather-wise compared to areas further north, and that trend is set to continue this weekend for the Australian Open Finals. Mild temperatures in the low twenties and partly cloudy skies will be familiar conditions to the three northern Europeans playing in the finals.

Daniil Medvedev has spent significant time in Moscow, an area with mean summer temperatures in the low twenties and oft-milky skies. Female final player Aryna Sabalenka is also from northern Europe while Medvedev's opponent, Jannik Sinner, also hails from north of 45 degrees latitude. Melbourne may have the coolest summer, on average, of the mainland Australian capitals, but it still averages in the high twenties (26.0°C) for January—a diminutive seeming number that disguises the huge variations that balance that average. Melbourne, after all, is also well known for scorching summer northerlies ahead of cold fronts that can send temperatures soaring into the forties and have caused grief for Australian Open players in the past.

Perhaps Qinwen Zheng—the other female finalist—would be best placed to deal with the typical Australian summer, having spent significant training time at lower latitudes, including Spain.  

Image: Monthly average temperatures for Melbourne, Australia (from Weatherzone) and Moscow, Russia (from ClimateCharts.net).  

However, this year the heat preparedness of players is moot. Melbourne's staying south of a high pressure ridge that's confining heat to the north. Mild westerly winds will be the order of the day for Melbourne Park, gusty at times today as a trough clips the south. Moisture is generally shallow and instability is low, so showers are only a slight chance about the hills. Temperatures in the city will have dropped to around 22°C for match start on both Saturday and Sunday evenings.   

Image: Hourly forecast temperature, wind and chance of rain for Melbourne for the next 24 hours (from Weatherzone). 

*Header photo by Josephine Gasser on Unsplash