Djokovic barely beats heat at US Open

NEW YORK — His cheeks red and his hair matted with sweat, Novak Djokovic trudged to a changeover on a steamy U.S. Open afternoon.

He 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 an hour into his first match at Flushing Meadows in two years, and though Djokovic eventually would get past Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 on Tuesday, it was a bit of an ordeal.

"Survival mode," Djokovic called it. "Everything is boiling in your body, the brain, everything."

With the temperature topping 95 degrees, and the humidity approaching 50 percent — making it feel more like 105 — nearly everything became a struggle for every player on Day 2, so much so that no fewer than five quit their matches, with three citing cramps or heat exhaustion.

The U.S. Tennis Association even did something it never had done at this tournament: offer men the chance to take a 10-minute break before the fourth set if a match went that far. An existing rule for women allows for 10 minutes of rest before a third set when there is excessive heat. How bad was it out there? "Bloody hot," said 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.

Despite the heat, play went on.

In women's matches, No. 2 seed Caroline Wozniacki, the Australian Open champion, easily reached the second round by beating 2011 titlist Sam Stosur 6-3, 6-2. American CoCo Vandeweghe double-faulted 12 times and is gone in the first round a year after making it to the semifinals, losing to Kirsten Flipkens 6-3, 7-6 (3).

In men’s play, Roger Federer delivered 14 aces during a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory over 117th-ranked Yoshihito Nishioka.