Novak Djokovic dispelled his reputation as a quitter after battling his way through five gruelling sets in scorching heat to win his first round match at the U.S. Open on Tuesday.
The world number three looked to be heading for an early exit when he fell two sets to one and a service break behind fellow Serb Viktor Troicki when he somehow summoned up the strength to fight back and win 6-3 3-6 2-6 7-5 6-3.
His incredible performance came on a day when organizers invoked the tournament's rarely used extreme weather policy and spectators fled the Flushing Meadows stands to seek refuge in the shade from the blazing sun.
For most of the match, Djokovic was soaked in sweat and gasping for air and playing an opponent showing no signs of weariness. It was only in the fifth set, when the sun began to set and Troicki started to wilt, that relief finally came.
"It was like, I don't know, sleeping with my girlfriend I guess kind of feeling," Djokovic told the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Djokovic made the U.S. Open final in 2007 then won the Australian Open the following year but was heavily criticized for retiring because of heat illness during his Melbourne Park defence then withdrawing from Wimbledon complaining of a blister on his toe.
Fighting qualities
Serbia's Jelena Jankovic and Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova needed all their fighting qualities to overcome the blistering temperatures and fired-up opponents to reach the second round of a championship that became a battle of survival.
Jankovic, a finalist in New York in 2008, fought back from the brink of defeat to beat Romanian Simona Halep 6-4 4-6 7-5 after Kuznetsova, champion in 2004 and runner-up in 2007, worked overtime to beat Japan's Kimiko Date Krumm 6-2 4-6 6-1.
Jankovic, seeded fourth, and Kuznetsova, seeded 11th, both struggled to produce their best on a day when temperatures soared to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Celsius).
"It was pretty hot," Jankovic said. "It's not easy to play in these kind of conditions. You have to just try your best."
Under the tournament's extreme heat policy, players are allowed to request a 10-minute break between the second and third sets if the mercury rises above 30.1 Celsius before the match started.
Kuznetsova's match on the Grandstand court began before the policy was invoked, meaning the players could not have a break between sets, but they were given ice packs at the change of ends and sheltered by umbrellas.
"It was hot for me. The heat bothered me a little bit in the first set, just when I started," Kuznetsova said. "Then I was fine. I just adapted and I played."
Tough workout
Maria Sharapova, the 2006 U.S. Open champion, was given a tough workout from Australia's Jarmila Groth in their match, played at dusk when the weather had cooled, before prevailing 4-6 6-3 6-1.
Sharapova's fellow Russian, Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva, had a much easier time against Slovakia's Zuzana Kucova on the Louis Armstrong Stadium, winning 6-2 6-1.
After two days of few surprises, seven seeded players made early exits in the severe conditions.
The biggest casualty in the men's draw was Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, seeded 16th, while the highest women's seed to fall was China's Li Na, seeded eighth.
World number one Rafa Nadal was scheduled to start his U.S. Open campaign in the first of two feature night matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Spanish world number was due to play Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili before the women's top seed, Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, takes on American wildcard recipient Chelsey Gullickson.
