Heat takes center stage on day Halep loses
Djokovic overcomes weather to advance to second round
NEW YORK — Ball kids are accustomed to bringing players water, towels and new balls during Grand Slam tournaments, but the trash can request may have been a first.
Yet Novak Djokovic thought the bin might have been necessary Tuesday afternoon at the U.S. Open when he was feeling so ill from the suffocating heat during his first-round match against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics that he thought he might be sick.
The reigning Wimbledon champion prevailed, regaining his strength after a wobbly second set to advance 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, but not without a bit of a scare on court. Sixth-seeded Djokovic, one of the fittest players on tour, appeared to seriously struggle for a time with scorching temperatures and thick humidity at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center – his face grew blotchy and red, and he draped heavy towels packed with ice around his neck during changeovers in the second set. He occasionally keeled over after points.
His trouble was the most visible example of a day so hot that it re- quired the U.S. Tennis Association to enact an extreme heat policy at the U.S. Open for the first time at a Grand Slam.
Temperatures climbed to 95 degrees with 46 percent humidity Tuesday, which made it feel like 103 degrees on grounds at the National Tennis Center and 130 degrees on court. According to the policy, men’s singles players were offered the chance to take a 10-minute break between the third and fourth sets of a match - a rest Djokovic took advantage of against Fucsovics.
“We did, today, following a consultation with our medical team, determine that we would employ an extreme heat policy and apply it to the men’s matches that happened at approximately 1 p.m. or so, give or take, in that arena,” USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said.
The rule was only in effect for the men because the WTA Tour has an excessive heat policy on the rule books, while the ATP Tour’s policy essentially leaves the decision up to tournament supervisors.
The WTA rule states that when a barometer called the Heat Stress Index measures at or above 86.2 degrees Fahrenheit, players may elect to take a 10-minute break between the second and third sets. The policy has been in place since 1992 and is used at all tournaments year-round.
USTA officials, medical staff and tournament referee Brian Earley decided to enforce a similar policy for the men Tuesday, but only for Tuesday. Temperatures are expected to reach the 90s on Wednesday and Thursday as well, but Widmaier said the policy will be enacted on a caseby-case basis.
“The logical question is, do you now have a number for the men similar to the 30.1 Wet Bulb reading that the women have? We do not,” Widmaier said. “We are looking at the situation, are constantly in contact with the tournament referee, Brian Earley, and constantly in contact with our medical personnel getting their input. I don’t believe that we will have a concrete, written policy, if you will, on the extreme heat for men until after this U.S. Open as we see what is happening.”
At least five men retired Tuesday, two of which were due to heat-related issues and two of which from cramping.
For Djokovic, the thought never crossed his mind, even though the sickness he felt on court was new.
“I was obviously hoping and praying that I’ll get to feel better as the match progresses,” Djokovic said. “Obviously I felt better, especially after that 10-minute break. For the first three sets, it was a survival mode for both of us. You have those days, you have those matches where you just have to figure out a way to hang in there, deal with these particular circumstances.”
Alexander Zverev, the No. 4 seed, advanced past Peter Polansky, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2, in more comfortable late-afternoon match in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Although the heat rule didn’t come into play for Zverev on Tuesday (his match didn’t go to a fourth set), when asked if the ATP should have a rule similar to the WTA’s, Zverev said it should.
“For sure, the ATP has kind of a policy. They are extreme conditions. In Washington we played in 140 degrees on-court temperature. We shouldn’t be playing when it’s that hot out there. We should be playing later at night,” Zverev said. “At the end of the day, the ATP or a lot of the supervisors, they’re kind of sitting in their offices where it’s an AC system on, where it’s cool, and we have to be out there. They tell us it’s fine. They’re not the ones playing.
“The rule should be more strict. There should be a certain temperature, certain conditions where we shouldn’t be playing. I’ve played in very hot conditions. Obviously, we have to get our bodies ready. We have to get our bodies ready for the toughest matches, the toughest competition. There’s certain conditions you can’t get yourselves ready; no human can.”
The heat policy was also used in at least one women’s match, a three-set slog between No. 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko and Andrea Petkovic.
Ostapenko, who won 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, asked to take a 10-minute break and both she and Petkovic chilled out in air conditioned rooms with ice towels and cold water available.
“I went, actually, to the bathroom and changed my outfit to be more fresh and just stayed in air conditioning for, like, 10 minutes,” Ostapenko said. “It helped me, because then I went back on court and I broke her serve straightaway.”
Ostapenko and Petkovic played on Louis Armstrong Stadium, which like Arthur Ashe Stadium is equipped with a retractable roof. Both roofs stayed open Tuesday, exposing players and spectators alike to a hot sun, as the USTA doesn’t close the roofs as a rule for any reason other than precipitation. Widmaier said tournament officials will meet Tuesday night, however, to determine if the roofs should be closed overnight and stay closed Wednesday in an attempt to trap cooler air in both stadiums.
The USTA, which usually takes three environmental readings per day at 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., has been monitoring the outside temperature every hour since the heat policy went into effect Tuesday afternoon.