Hothouse conditions cultivate questions
Players seek relief, object to rules; USTA gives men heat break
NEW YORK — His cheeks red, hair matted with sweat, Novak Djokovic appeared to be in such distress as he trudged to a changeover on a steamy U.S. Open afternoon that someone suggested it would be a good idea to have a trash can at the ready, just in case he lost his lunch.
Djokovic sat down and removed his shirt. He guzzled water from a plastic bottle. He placed one cold towel around his neck, a second across his lap and a third between his bare upper back and the seat.
He was not even 1½ hours into his first match at Flushing Meadows in two years. Djokovic got past Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 on Tuesday, but it was a bit of an ordeal.
“Survival mode,” Djokovic said.
With the temperature topping 95 degrees and the humidity approaching 50 percent — and that combination making it feel more like 105 — nearly everything became a struggle for every player across the grounds on Day 2 of the U.S. Open, so much so that no fewer than six quit their matches, with four citing cramps or heat exhaustion.
In evening play, Maria Sharapova held on to edge Patty Schnyder, 39, the oldest female qualifier in Grand Slam history, in the first round. Sharapova let a big second-set lead slip away, then needed four match points to close out Schnyder 6-2, 7-6 (6).
Also, Roger Federer improved to 18-0 in first-round matches at the U.S. Open and took one step toward a potential quarterfinal showdown against Novak Djokovic. The 20-time major champion delivered 14 aces during a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory over 117th-ranked Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan. And 14th-seeded Madison Keys eased into the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over 71st-ranked Pauline Parmentier of France.
About two hours into the day’s schedule, the U.S. Tennis Association decided to do something it never had at this tournament: offer men the chance to take a 10minute break before the fourth set if a match went that far.
That is similar to the existing rule for women, which allows for 10 minutes of rest before a third set when there is excessive heat.
The whole thing raised several questions: Should the genders have the same rules moving forward? Should the U.S. Open avoid having matches during the hottest part of the day, not just for the players’ sake but also to help spectators?
Should the men play best-ofthree-set matches at majors, instead of best-of-five? Should the 25-second serve clock, making its Grand Slam debut here, be shut off to let players have more time to recover between points?
“At the end of the day, the ATP or a lot of the supervisors, they’re kind of sitting in their offices, where (there’s) an A.C. system on, where it’s cool,” said No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev, who won in straight sets in the early evening, when it was less harsh. “And we have to be out there. They tell us it’s fine; they’re not the ones playing. For sure, the rule should be more strict. There should be a certain temperature, certain conditions where we shouldn’t be playing.”
How bad was it out there at its worst Tuesday?
“Bloody hot,” said two-time major semifinalist Johanna Konta, who lost 6-2, 6-2 to No. 6 Caroline Garcia.
“Brutal,” said 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic, who advanced when his opponent retired in the third set.
“Really not easy,” said threetime Grand Slam title winner Angelique Kerber, who defeated Margarita Gasparyan 7-6 (5), 6-3.
“Terrible. It’s awful out there,” said Tennys Sandgren, an American who won in straight sets and will next face Djokovic.
Because play began at 11 a.m., and the USTA implemented the heat rule for men at about 1 p.m., those playing in the earliest matches didn’t get relief. That included Italy's Stefano Travaglia, who quit in the fourth set of his match after feeling dizzy and cramping. Afterward, he said, he could barely walk.