Sport

Murray ice-cool in the heat

TENNIS: THE SIGHT of Victoria Azarenka collapsed in a heat-ravaged heap, then carried from the court in a wheelchair on her …

KEVIN MITCHELL at Flushing Meadows
Thu Sept 02 2010 - 01:00

TENNIS:THE SIGHT of Victoria Azarenka collapsed in a heat-ravaged heap, then carried from the court in a wheelchair on her way to hospital, underlined the physical demands of this US Open, with only brief relief from the tail feathers of Hurricane Earl in sight tomorrow and 11 days to go in New York's hottest summer.

However, a be-capped Andy Murray, his pale Scottish skin smothered in sun-screen and his demeanour ice-cool, came through the first-round match unstretched against the unseeded Slovakian Lukas Lacko.

Murray, who teetered in the even greater heat of Cincinnati two weeks ago, when he admitted he got his hydration wrong, looked in fine form on Arthur Ashe Court yesterday, winning 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in nine minutes short of two hours. It was a comfortable win, but he did linger quite long in the sun.

Murray’s reward for the win is a second-round match against Dustin Brown, born in Germany, raised and disillusioned in Jamaica, and keen to play Davis Cup for Britain – however unlikely that prospect is.

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Brown soaked it up well enough out on the totally exposed court eight against the experienced Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hildago, winning 6-4, 7-6, 7-5.

Dread-locked and loud in every sense, from his pyjama-like shorts and luminous orange-and-lime shoelaces to his unconfined celebration of his 21 aces, he minced Hildago.

In heat tempered only by the Sahara-like gusts that eddied through the baking crowd, he lit up every exchange with a brand of tennis rarely seen in the modern game, dismissive of risk and high on entertainment.

Brown was a big hit at Queen’s this year and qualified for Wimbledon when he went inside the top 100. But he has lost more than he has won on the clay courts of Europe this year, five out of 13, and his ranking has slipped to 123. But his personality and his game are irresistible.

“I’m from Jamaica, so it felt like home out there today,” he said after a match that detained him 149 minutes.

Brown, angry at lack of support by the federation in Jamaica, said he has not heard from the Lawn Tennis Association about qualifying for Britain, through his grandmother, since discussions at Wimbledon.

On his day, Brown’s power tennis is hard to counter. Yesterday was his day. Whether tomorrow will belong to him also is problematic. He has a killer serve, clever chip shots – “my favourite,” he says – but lacks consistency. We should enjoy him in his brief bursts on to centre stage.

Azarenka, the women’s 10th seed, was preparing to serve in the seventh game of the first set against the Argentinian Gisela Dulko when she staggered along the baseline, dropped to her knees and rolled on to her side, motionless, in front of a shocked Grandstand Court crowd.

She was the first, and so far, only, victim of a heatwave that has been broiling New York for nearly a week. It has affected some players more than others; Azarenka, though, was a story waiting to happen. Her temperament is as explosive as her screaming and she has a history of bailing out under pressure.

Azarenka looked unsteady on her feet from early in the match, which began in rising temperatures in late morning, and there were rumours she might have been suffering from more than heat exhaustion. ESPN reported she had complained of blurred vision and had received medical attention before the match.

It is not the first time Azarenka has succumbed to tough conditions. At the Australian Open last year, she took a set off Serena Williams then quit in a tearful exit on a fiercely hot day, complaining of dizziness.

She said she had been suffering from food poisoning.

  • FLUSHING MEADOWS RESULTS

    Men's singles

    First round:V Hanescu (Rom) bt C Berlocq (Arg) 6-2 6-4 6-3; G Garcia-Lopez (Spa) bt L Kubot (Pol) 6-3 6-2 7-6 (7-4); (20) S Querrey (USA) bt B Klahn (USA) 6-3 4-6 7-5 6-4; D Brown (Jam) bt R Ramirez Hidalgo (Spa) 6-4 7-6 (8-6) 7-5; (14) N Almagro (Spa) bt P Starace (Ita) 4-6 6-4 6-4 7-6 (7-5);R Harrison (USA) bt (15) I Ljubicic (Cro) 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-4; M Granollers (Spa) bt A Seppi (Ita) 2-6 5-7 6-3 6-2 6-3; R Harrison (USA) bt (15) I Ljubicic (Cro) 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-4; M Granollers (Spa) bt A Seppi (Ita) 2-6 5-7 6-3 6-2 6-3; M Llodra (Fra) bt (7) T Berdych (Cze) 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 6-4; S Stakhovsky (Ukr) bt P Luczak (Aus) 6-7 (8-10) 7-5 6-4 6-2; (4) A Murray (Brit) bt L Lacko (Svk) 6-3 6-2 6-2; (1) R Nadal (Spa) bt T Gabashvili (Rus) 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) 6-3; D Istomin (Uzb) bt M Gonzalez (Arg) 7-5 7-5 6-1; (10) D Ferrer (Spa) bt A Dolgopolov (Ukr) 6-2 6-2 6-3; B Becker (Ger) bt D Brands (Ger) 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4; (31) D Nalbandian (Arg) bt Rik De Voest (Rsa) 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-4; F Serra (Fra) bt F Mayer (Ger) 7-5 6-2 6-0; A Mannarino (Fra) bt P Riba (Spa) 3-6 6-1 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-1); F Verdasco (Spa) bt F Fognini (Ita) 1-6 7-5 6-1 4-6 6-3; J Benneteau (Fra) bt (28) R Stepanek (Cze) 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-4; P Cuevas (Uru) bt J Silva (Bra) 7-6 (7-0) 6-1 6-2; P Polansky (Can) bt (30) J Monaco (Arg) 6-2 7-6 (7-5) 6-3; J Blake (USA) bt K Vliegen (Bel) 6-3 6-2 6-4; (3) N Djokovic (Ser) bt V Troicki (Ser) 6-3 3-6 2-6 7-5 6-3; (25) S Wawrinka (Swi) bt M Kukushkin (Kaz) 6-3 6-2 6-2; J I Chela (Arg) bt Yen-Hsun Lu (Tpe) 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-3; G Simon (Fra) bt D Young (USA) 6-1 6-4 6-2.

    Women's singles

    First round:(1) C Wozniacki (Den) bt C Gullickson (USA) 6-1 6-1; Kai Chen Chang (Tpe) bt C Suarez-Navarro (Spa) 6-2 6-4; T Paszek (Aut) bt (26) L Safarova (Cze) 2-6 7-5 6-2; I Benesova (Cze) bt N Llagostera Vives (Spa) 6-3 7-6 (8-6); (14) M Sharapova (Rus) bt J Groth (Svk) 4-6 6-3 6-1; (23) M Kirilenko (Rus) bt B Zahlavova-Strycova (Cze) 7-5 6-4; L Dominguez Lino (Spa) bt (30) Y Shvedova (Kaz) 6-4 3-6 6-2; U Radwanska (Pol) bt A Chakvetadze (Rus) 6-3 6-3; D Cibulkova (Svk) bt S Voegele (Swi) 6-2 4-6 7-5; A Amanmuradova (Uzb) bt C Scheepers (Rsa) 6-3 6-4; (31) K Kanepi (Est) bt A Cornet (Fra) 3-6 6-1 6-0; B Mattek-Sands (USA) bt A Medina Garrigues (Spa) 4-6 6-4 6-1; A Petkovic (Ger) bt (17) N Petrova (Rus) 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-4); S Lisicki (Ger) bt Coco Vandeweghe (USA) 6-1 6-0; (7) Vera Zvonareva (Rus) bt Zuzana Kucova (Svk) 6-2 6-1.

    Second round:Gisela Dulko (Arg) bt (10) Victoria Azarenka (Blr) 5-1 ret; A Ivanovic (Ser) bt (21) Jie Zheng (Chn) 6-3 6-0; (20) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Rus) bt Sania Mirza (Ind) 6-2 6-4; V Razzano (Fra) bt (13) M Bartoli (Fra) 7-5 6-4; M Minella (Lux) bt (32) T Pironkova (Bul) 6-4 6-0; (6) F Schiavone (Ita) bt M E Camerin (Ita) 6-2 6-1; (12) E Dementieva (Rus) bt S Bammer (Aut) 6-3 6-4; (24) D Hantuchova (Svk) bt V King (USA) 5-7 6-3 6-4; V Williams (USA) bt R Marino (Can) 7-6 6-3.