Despite the unbearable heat, all but two seeded players, No.24 Coco Vandeweghe and No.28 Anett Kontaveit, survived Tuesday’s first-round action at the US Open. Just how extreme the conditions in New York were was evidenced by the fact that seed No.29 Dominika Cibulkova had to change her shoes three times during her three-setter against Arantxa Rus.
Seed No.2 Caroline Wozniacki benefited from the shadows in Arthur Ashe Stadium in her triumph over Samantha Stosur, while last year’s runner-up Madison Keys, seeded 14th, enjoyed a 6-4 6-4 win over Pauline Parmentier in the evening.