Canadian tennis player Frank Dancevic claims he saw Snoopy from Peanuts, before passing out during his match at the Australian Open against France's Benoit Paire.

The 29-year old was unconscious for about a minute before coming back and losing the match in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4.

He said the temperature in Melbourne was "inhumane" and said that playing on court six was "hazardous."

“I was dizzy from the middle of the first set and then I saw Snoopy and I thought, ‘Wow Snoopy, that’s weird,”’ Dancevic said. “I couldn’t keep my balance anymore and I leaned over the fence and when I woke up people were all around me.”

Australian Open officials claim that no player has ever died from dehydration on a tennis court.

"The relatively low level of humidity ensured that conditions never deteriorated to a point where we needed to invoke the extreme heat policy," said tournament referee Wayne McKewen.

"Until somebody dies, they're going to keep playing matches in this heat ... and personally I don't think it's fair,” Dancevic said. "It's not only the heat you're battling with the air temperature, you're battling the heat coming from the court and also the sun so you've got heat coming from all sides.”