Rinky Hijikata has been dealt a grand slam reality check as Australia’s tennis stars crashed back to earth on a steaming hot Wednesday at the US Open in New York.
Hijikata was no match for Grigor Dimitrov, who sealed a 6-1 6-1 7-6 (7-4) thrashing to move into the third round.
In 34C conditions so humid that it felt even hotter, players around the Flushing Meadows precinct battled with the elements.
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Argentine Tomas Etcheverry upset countryman and 29th seed Francesco Cerundolo in a five-set marathon where the physical toll was high.
Nearly four hours into the match an ailing Etcheverry turned to walk back towards the fence but vomited before he could reach the boundaries of the court.
Elsewhere, sixth seed Andrey Rublev lost the first two sets against Arthur Rinderknech before winning in five sets over more than four hours — but they were struggling as early as the second set.
The end of a 37-shot rally sent Rinderknech crashing to the court and the exhausted Frenchman remained down for 30 seconds.
Temperatures are expected to drop by 10C for Thursday and forecast to be no higher than 26C in the coming days.
Hijikata was among four Australians forced to battle Wednesday’s conditions as much as their opponents on the other side of the net.
Former women’s quarter-finalist Ajla Tomljanovic and 18-year-old qualifier Maya Joint were also eliminated, while men’s 28th seed Alexei Popyrin easily cleared his opponent to set up a possible clash with Novak Djokovic in the third round.
With 10 players making the second round, Australia’s bumper 20-strong contingent had made their brightest start to the US Open in 45 years.
The men, in particular, have been on fire with eight Australians winning their opening matches for the first time since 1976 — almost half a century ago.
Now they’re down to seven, with 28th seed Alexei Popyrin saving the day when he defeated Spain’s Pedro Martinez 6-2 6-4 6-0.
Hijikata stormed to the fourth round last year as a wildcard but knew he’d have his work cut out against Dimitrov, who is playing his best tennis at age 33.
Hijikata, though, could not have imagined winning only two games in the first two sets.
The 23-year-old put up more of a fight in the third but the one-time world No.3’s class ultimately prevailed as Dimitrov won through in two hours and 10 minutes.
Tomljanovic lost her second-round match 6-3 6-2 to Belgian 33rd seed Elise Mertens, while Joint’s breakout grand slam run came to a halt with a 6-4 6-0 loss to 2017 runner-up Madison Keys.
“It was a competitive first set and I had my chances but she played really well,” Joint said.
“She lifted in the second set for sure and, yeah, I don’t think I did anything wrong.”
Despite the defeat, Joint is projected to leave New York with a career-high ranking of No.108 in the world and on track to gain direct entry to the Australian Open in January, after winning three qualifying matches then her posting her maiden main-draw grand slam victory.
– with AAP
