Grasping for air: Heat a major issue at Olympic tennis venue

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Daniil Medvedev, of the Russian Olympic Committee, cools off during a changeover in a tennis match against Alexander Bublik, of Kazakhstan, during at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

TOKYO ā€“ French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova grasped for an air tube during a medical timeout and grew frustrated at the lack of ice in a court-side container.

German player Mona Barthel struggled with 10 double-faults in a loss to Iga Swiatek as a blinding sun made it nearly impossible to see the ball once she tossed it.

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Heat and humidity quickly became a major issue when the Olympic tennis tournament opened Saturday. The temperature soared to 93 degrees F (34 degrees C) and the heat index made it feel more than 100 F (38 C).

ā€œYouā€™re just not feeling great,ā€ Pavlyuchenkova said. ā€œSo I wasnā€™t enjoying it at all.ā€

Still, Pavlyuchenkova routed Sara Errani of Italy 6-0, 6-1, while Swiatek ā€” last year's French Open champion from Poland ā€” beat the 172nd-ranked Barthel 6-2, 6-2 in the opening match on Center Court.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovicā€™s bid for a Golden Slam is alive and well following a routine 6-2, 6-2 win over 139th-ranked Hugo Dellien of Bolivia.

The top-ranked Serb is attempting to become the first man to win all four major tennis tournaments and an Olympic singles gold medal in the same year.

ā€œYou feel constantly dehydrated," said Djokovic, who at least played later in the day when half of the court was in the shade. "Thereā€™s no circulation of the air."

Midway through her second set, doubts started to creep into Pavlyuchenkovaā€™s head as she shoved bags of ice up her skirt on a changeover. Then she had trouble fiddling with a tube blowing cold air next to her seat.

ā€œItā€™s not easy to find the right position because itā€™s just on the bench and somebody has to hold it so the air is blowing on you,ā€ the Russian said.

Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev, who also competes for ROC at the Tokyo Games, called it ā€œsome of the worstā€ heat he has played in after eliminating Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 6-4, 7-6 (8).

ā€œBut you have to play,ā€ Medvedev said. ā€œThatā€™s the Olympics, you go for the medal. You are not here to cry about the heat.ā€

Medvedev suggested that organizers move all matches to the evening to avoid the heat of the day.

ā€œI donā€™t think they are going to change anything in the middle of the tournament, but thatā€™s what can be done,ā€ he said. ā€œThe fact that we have only one minute between the changeovers is a joke. ... It should be 1:30 like it is in other tournaments.ā€

Djokovic agreed.

ā€œI sincerely donā€™t understand it,ā€ Djokovic said, adding that later starts would also better suit broadcasters in the United States and Europe because of the time difference.

Ice melted in court-side containers.

ā€œEvery time I had to take the ice pack or ice towel it wasnā€™t cold at all,ā€ Pavlyuchenkova said. ā€œThey expected the heat and it wasnā€™t 100% ready for us.ā€

Pavlyuchenkova needed more than an hour after her match to recover before talking to reporters.

ā€œI feel a bit better, but I just have a massive headache now,ā€ she said. ā€œI think they somehow could have tried to make it a bit easier.ā€

On one occasion, Barthel lost sight of the ball completely on her serve.

ā€œI was blinded by the sun,ā€ the German player said. ā€œI couldnā€™t see it anymore.ā€

There are rules for extreme heat that call for a 10-minute break between the second and third sets if players request it. Play can also be suspended if an internal advisory group deems conditions dangerous ā€” in which case play would continue on center court under a retractable roof.

Aiming for his fourth Olympic medal, Andy Murray and British partner Joe Salisbury beat the second-seeded French team of Pierre-Hughes Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 6-3, 6-2 in doubles. Murray is the two-time defending Olympic champion in singles and he won a silver in mixed doubles at the 2012 London Games with Laura Robson.

Also in doubles, top-ranked singles player Ash Barty and Storm Sanders of Australia eliminated Nao Hibino and Makoto Ninomiya of host Japan 6-1, 6-2.

Also advancing in singles on the hard courts of the Ariake Tennis Park were eighth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic, 14th-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece, 16th-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland.

Marketa Vondrousova, the 2019 French Open runner-up, defeated 16th-seeded Kiki Bertens 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the last match of Bertens' career.

Advancing in men's action were 11th-seeded Aslan Karatsev of ROC, 15th-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy and 16th-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain.

Djokovicā€™s next opponent will be 48th-ranked Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany, who eliminated Thiago Monteiro of Brazil 6-3, 6-4.

Golubic will next face either home favorite Naomi Osaka or Zheng Saisai of China.

The Osaka-Zheng match was originally scheduled to open play on center court, but that was moved to Sunday before Osaka lit the cauldron in Fridayā€™s opening ceremony.

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Associated Press writer Syd Fryer contributed to this report.

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More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2020-tokyo-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Andrew Dampf is at https://twitter.com/AndrewDampf


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