Djokovic wins at steamy U.S. Open

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 was not even 1½ hours into his first match at Flushing Meadows in two years, and while Djokovic eventually would get past Marton Fucsovics, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, Tuesday, it was a bit of an ordeal.

“Survival mode,” Djokovic called it. With the temperature topping 95 degrees and the humidity approaching 50% 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 five quit their matches, with three citing cramps or heat exhaustion.

About 2 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 10-minute 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? Should the men play best-of-three-set matches at majors, instead of best-of-five?

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 three-time Grand Slam title winner Angelique Kerber, who defeated Margarita Gasparyan, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

“Terrible. It’s awful out there,” said Tennys Sandgren, who will face Djokovic in the second round. “I don’t know how guys are hanging in there. I was thinking in the third set, like, ‘It’s getting really bad. I just don’t know how long I have to play out there.’ And I think everybody kind of feels similarly.”