Tennis players can’t beat the heat

TOKYO — French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova grasped for an air tube during a medical timeout and grew frustrated at the lack of ice in a courtside container.

German player Mona Barthel struggled with 10 double-faults in a loss to Iga Swiatek as a blinding sun made it nearly impossible to see the ball once she tossed it.

Heat and humidity quickly became a major issue when the Olympic tennis tournament opened Saturday. The temperature soared to 93 degrees and the heat index made it feel like more than 100.

“You’re just not feeling great,” Pavlyuchenkova said. “So I wasn’t enjoying it at all.”

Still, Pavlyuchenkova routed Sara Errani of Italy 6-0, 6-1, while Swiatek — last year’s French Open champion from Poland — beat the 172ndranked Barthel 6-2, 6-2 in the opening match on Center Court.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic’s bid for a Golden Slam is alive and well following a routine 6-2, 6-2 win over 139th-ranked Hugo Dellien of Bolivia.

The top-ranked Serb is attempting to become the first man to win all four major tennis tournaments and an Olympic singles gold medal in the same year.

“You feel constantly dehydrated,” said Djokovic, who at least played later in the day when half of the court was in the shade. “There’s no circulation of the air.”

Midway through her second set, doubts started to creep into Pavlyuchenkova’s head as she shoved bags of ice up her skirt on a changeover. Then she had trouble fiddling with a tube blowing cold air next to her seat.

“It’s not easy to find the right position because it’s just on the bench and somebody has to hold it so the air is blowing on you,” the Russian said.

Daniil Medvedev, who competes for ROC at the Tokyo Games, called it “some of the worst” heat he has played in after eliminating Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 6-4, 7-6 (8).

“But you have to play,” Medvedev said. “That’s the Olympics, you go for the medal. You are not here to cry about the heat.”

Medvedev suggested that organizers move all matches to the evening to avoid the heat of the day.

“I sincerely don’t understand it,” Djokovic said, adding that later starts would also better suit broadcasters in the United States and Europe because of the time difference.

The Associated Press Patrick Semansky Daniil Medvedev of the Russian Olympic Committee cools off during his opening match at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.