Pospisil stays cool in sweltering opener
U.S. OPEN: Canadian makes quick work of Slovakian in first round, shrugs off 33 C temperatures
It was stinkin’ hot for Day 1 of the U.S. Open Monday.
The temperature hit 33C under a blazing sun — and that didn’t count the humidity. It was hot enough for a journalist to drip sweat while eating a turkey sandwich in the shade on the patio of the Bud Collins Media Centre. Hot enough for the U.S. Open Collection Store to do a booming business selling three ounces (88 mL) of sun screen for $13 ($16.92 Canadian) along with their vast collection of souvenirs.
But Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil got lucky. In fact, he had it made in the shade.
Pospisil’s match against Slovakia’s Jozef Kovalik was the second of the day on the Old Grandstand, a court that actually gets some shade late in the day thanks to the stands on the adjacent Louis Armstrong Stadium. The first match took more than four hours to complete, with Belgium’s Steve Darcis beating Australia’s Jordan Thompson in five sets. So when Pospisil and Kovalik took to the court at 3:30 p.m. local time, half of it was covered in shade.
After Pospisil won the first set 6-1, the full court was in shade but the Canadian remained red hot, winning the next two sets 6-3, 6-3 to complete his straight-sets victory in only 1:37.
It was a big win for Pospisil, who had lost his previous four matches at the U.S. Open, advancing past the first round only once, in 2011. The Canadian has struggled all year, posting a 6-21 record before coming here as his ranking fell to No. 123. Kovalik is ranked No. 126.
“It’s huge,” Pospisil said about the confidence boost from a victory. “I thought I played a great match. More than the win, what was more important for me today was just that I felt like I found my identity, found myself again on the court. Playing with great energy and playing for every point. I just had the right mentality.
“I just kind of found myself on the court again.”
There was a vocal Canadian contingent in the stands — just about all of them sitting on the shady side — and Pospisil said that gave him a boost.
“I like when the fans are close and when there’s a good atmosphere,” he said. “Today I was very pleased and surprised with the crowd support, which was pretty amazing. It was a nice match to play.
“It had a Davis Cup feel to it, which was awesome.”
As for the heat, Pospisil said: “It was fine. Honestly, the humidity was low, so I didn’t feel anything. I don’t even know hot it was. I didn’t really feel bad at all. We had a little bit of shade. For me, the humidity is tough, but I never have issues with heat.”
Pospisil guaranteed himself a pretty good payday with the victory. A first-round loser here earns US$43,300 and a second-round loser pockets US$77,200. If Pospisil wins his second-round match against South Africa’s Kevin Anderson he is guaranteed US$140,000.
That can buy a lot of sunscreen — even at the U.S. Open.
Former champions in action
Three former U.S. Open men’s champions were in action on Day 1: top-seeded Novak Djokovic (a winner in 2011 and 2014) played Jerzy Janowicz; No. 4 seed Rafael Nadal (2010, 2013) played Denis Istomin; and No. 7 seed Marin Cilic (2014) played Rogerio Dutra Silva.
Nadal, playing with a bandage on his left wrist, won 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 after skipping the last Grand Slam event at Wimbledon because of the injury.
He also had to withdraw from the French Open after the second round because of his wrist. Cilic won his match 6-4, 7-5, 6-1. Djokovic played the first of the night session in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Afternoon delight for Bouchard
It’s supposed to be another hot one on Tuesday with a high of 29C and sunny skies and Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard will be in the middle of the heat. The Westmount native’s first-round match against Katerina Siniakova will be the second match of the day on the Grandstand court.
Vinci back in spotlight
Italy’s Roberta Vinci, who upset Serena Williams in the semifinals here last year, won her firstround match 6-2, 6-4 Monday over 46th-ranked Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany.
Vinci lost last year’s final to Italy’s Flavia Pennetta.