US Open players have had to deal with scorching temperatures over the first two days of the tournament. On Tuesday, the thermometer picked at 36 ͦC with a heat index of 42 ͦ. Three players retired in the men’s section, while Novak Djokovic and Marton Fucsovics were the first ones to take advantage of a 10-minute break between the third and fourth set under the new extreme heat policy.
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Three players retire
Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis, Italian Stefano Travaglia and Argentinian Leonardo Mayer were the players who retired, with the Argentinian particularly unhappy with the circumstances.
“I think we should no longer play five sets,”
“That’s my opinion, I think that’s the past. They won’t stop until someone dies. It’s incredible, matches become ugly. The only way [to solve this] is to shorten them.”
Novak Djokovic shares ice bath with Marton Fucsovics
Novak Djokovic battled through the first three sets before running away in the fourth for a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 win. After the match, the two-time US Open champion revealed he and Hungarian Marton Fucsovics shared a “wonderful” moment in the ice tubs.
“It was funny,”
“Marton and I had the ice baths, one next to the other. So we were in the two ice baths, we were naked in the ice baths and it was quite a wonderful feeling, you know. Battling with a guy for two and a half hours and then you get into the locker room and you haven’t finished the match and you’re naked in the ice baths. It was quite a magnificent feeling, I must say.”
US Open extreme heat policy
The extreme heat policy was in effect after the USTA decided the conditions in New York endangered the players. The rule states that men receive a 10-minute break between the third and the fourth sets. No coaching is permitted, but players are allowed to take bathroom breaks and showers to cool down.
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The ladies already had such a policy established before the tournament, allowing them to take take a 10-minute break after the completion of the second set if one player requests it.
Fans weren’t’ spared either, as about 20 people received first aid due to dehydration and heat exhaustion. Wednesday’s forecast doesn’t offer much encouragement, with temperatures expected to be just as high.
