Former men's singles champions Novak Djokovic and Marin Cilic opened their campaigns for a repeat victory at the US Open with contrasting first‑round wins in sweltering heat and humid conditions.
The reigning Wimbledon champion, Djokovic who has struggled in similar situations in the past, called for the doctor during the second set and trailed by a break in the third before Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, too, began to wilt.
The heat was so brutal at Flushing Meadows that tournament officials added a 10‑minute break between the third and fourth set of the men's best‑of‑five singles matches.
Cilic clinched a second‑round berth after opponent Marius Copil of Romania retired in the third set trailing the seventh‑ranked Croatian.
[Source:RNZ]
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