The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Djokovic survives steamy opener
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 11⁄2 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 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 five quit their matches, with three citing cramps or heat exhaustion.
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 Djokovic.
The 20-time major champion delivered 14 aces and never was in any trouble during a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory over 117th-ranked Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan in a night match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The No. 2-seeded Federer is seeking his sixth title at the U.S. Open, but first in a decade.
Young American Frances Tiafoe finally has his first U.S. Open win on his fourth try — and he eliminated a seeded player, to boot.
Tiafoe, a 20-year-old from Maryland, beat No. 29 Adrian Mannarino of France 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to get to the second round. The 44th-ranked Tiafoe had lost in the first round in New York in each of the past three years, including against Federer in 2017.
Nick Kyrgios, the 30th seed, hit 25 aces — and also had 14 double-faults — while beating Radu Albot 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Eugenie Bouchard has won a match at the U.S. Open for the first time since 2015, the year she withdrew from the tournament after a fall left her with a concussion.
Bouchard had to go through qualifying to reach the main draw and moved into the second round by beating Harmony Tan of France 6-3, 6-1.
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 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, not just for the players’ sake but also to help spectators? Should the men play bestof-three-set matches at majors, instead of best-offive? 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 (air conditioning) 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,” said No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev, who won in straight sets in the early evening, when it was far less harsh. “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 twotime 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, an American who won in straight sets and 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.”