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NEW YORK – In a set and 2-2 in the quarter-finals on Wednesday night, Novak Djokovic spent nearly six minutes shirtless in his chair waiting for his opponent, John Millman, to return to the locker room with a dry change. clothing. Three games later, Djokovic returned to the chair to change into a new pair of socks and shoes. This is only a small preview of the bizarre scenes created in the last two weeks at the US Open by this sweltering New York heat.
The number of departures at the beginning of the course (13 in total, third more than any open-ended Slam), when temperatures climbed nearly 100 degrees, a slew of players resting on their rackets mid-game, the last grand slam of the season has been an extreme affair. But if we believe our sometimes reliable weather applications, the players managed to survive in the semifinals. So how did they manage to do it? Continue reading …
THEIR MATCHES AND RACKETS ARE FILLED WITH VOLTAGE
Last Wednesday, on the first extremely hot day of the tournament, Wilson racquets were among the busiest on the US Open field. "Typically, when it's hot, players will ride in [string] the tension, "said Dustin Tankersley, captain of the Wilson String Team at the Open." That day, we did 26 "on the field," when a player gives a racket to a ball child during a match, they bring it to us in the main stringing room, we cut the strings , ironed them and sized them and we sent them back to the field with the balloon child. "
When the weather is hot, the ball flies faster, so that players lose a little control over the ball on their rackets. High heat also causes the ropes to lose tension more quickly. To counter both of these problems, Mr. Tankersley stated that the majority of players increased their racket tension by 2 pounds. Millman, for example, started the tournament with his 62-pound rackets, but rose to 64 for his night-time match against Roger Federer, and then used this same tension on Wednesday night against Djokovic.
For some, 2 pounds are not enough. "When did I train Andre [Agassi], a day like today, he could squeeze his racket by 5 or 6 pounds more because the field plays faster, "said Brad Gilbert, ESPN analyst." At night, when it gets wet, he could release it. "
How does playing a tennis match in hot conditions affect an athlete in the future? It depends on the athlete and the actions taken.
The USTA and the WTA instituted thermal policies at the US Open, where temperatures reached 98 degrees. Novak Djokovic and his opponent used ice baths to cool off.
After a brilliant performance in the third round, Roger Federer could do nothing against number 55 John Millman. So what went wrong?
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And then there are players who do not allow the weather, as extreme as it is, to dictate their equipment. "Some players are changing the tension of the ropes for grass, clay, hard ground and heat," Takersley said. "But [Rafael] Nadal never changes his tension. This is a factor he does not think he needs to worry about. "
But it's not just the ropes that players are meticulous in this heat; The choice of the appropriate gripping material is also crucial. Some players have recovered their snowshoes using a more absorbent material to help absorb perspiration, and then layered on bracelets for better absorption. "The conditions have been pretty brutal," said Millman. "I struggled from the start to keep the racket."
After defeating Sloane Stephens in a game of over 90 degrees at noon on Tuesday, Anastasija Sevastova said she too was struggling to keep her racquet handle dry. "For hands, [the humidity] "It's not nice," she said. Your hands are always slippery. I do not like it, but that's what it is. It's the weather in New York right now. "
IT'S NOT HEAT – IT'S HUMIDITY
These are not just phrases spoken by your grandparents when you visit them in Florida. This is true. Extreme heat can wreak havoc on a player, but high humidity is much more dangerous, depriving the body of its ability to cool down.
"Sweating is the way your body releases heat," said Dr. Melissa Leber, a medical player for the US Open and director of emergency medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. "But sweat does not evaporate as well in the moist air, it makes it difficult to cool, your body does not respond appropriately and says," I'm overheating. Let me produce more sweat and more sweat. "
That's why, after his quarterfinal match against Juan Martin del Potro on Tuesday afternoon, John Isner said he has changed 11 times of sweat-soaked T-shirts, socks and anklets that have become sip and heavy. This is a way to help dispel perspiration and help the body in its cooling process.
At 6-foot-10 and 238 pounds, Isner said he thought he had lost between 8 and 10 pounds during the game, which represents a dangerously high percentage of weight to lose in such a short time. "I've always said that it was hard to play in hot conditions, especially for me, because I weigh a lot and I sweat a lot," said Isner. "This is devastating for the bigger ones."
Leber said, "There may be a genetic component, a male / female component and a big problem for the way players take heat differently. Some people lose more sodium than others and some have more water in their sweat. the best players have their sweat rates and electrolytes measured and work with nutritionists to create a hydration plan that starts in the days leading up to a match. "
On the court, liquids, ice towels and breaks are used to help players prevent heat, and once the symptoms have appeared – headaches, cramps, disorientation – doctors like Leber help players rehydrate. "Once they are symptomatic, we can not do much in the match except encourage and support them with ice towels," she said. Prevention is the key.
"SLOW COURSE" = SLOW BALLS
Madison Keys, who is in the semifinal in New York for the second year in a row, said in her quarter-final match Wednesday night, "the court is playing slower." She then explained what physicists already know. What is "slow" is not necessarily the court itself, but the reaction of the ball on the playing surface. "Because it's been so wet," she said, "the balls become much more swollen and play even more slowly. "
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Madison Keys and Carla Suarez Navarro enter a rally and the return of Suarez Navarro takes a long time since Keys wins the match in two sets 6-4, 6-3.
The keys can be on something. High temperatures increase the speed of the ball in the air and the gas inside the ball expands, which results in a higher rebound, which benefits heavily hit players. (Nadal, no matter who?) But when it's wet, as it was Wednesday, the ball absorbs more water and becomes heavier and more "fluffy", a word commonly used by players to describe a slow and wet ball.
Keys said she thought it was not a coincidence that three of the four finalists in the women's draw – Keys, Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka – were all coaching in Florida and knew how to win. Adapt to wet conditions.
COOLER HEADS PREVAILED
After losing to Millman on Monday night, Federer said that he felt "everything was off" for him while he was struggling to breathe at the central court, and that Millman, who is training in the Hot and humid climates of Brisbane, Australia, "was able to cope better." This is a phrase that several players have used to describe their triumphant opponents. But taking care of moisture is not limited to the one with the best hydration plan.
"There is an incredible mental side to this equation," said Gilbert. "Some people are obviously a bit more fit and can handle extreme conditions better than others, but if you have an opponent who forces you to work harder, everything can change in the game. he loved going out in a million degrees.He just knew that he was making phenomenal efforts for 47 minutes, he could break someone's will and his desire to compete. "
No doubt, that's what Osaka did Wednesday afternoon. Playing in the scorching heat of the midday sun, she defeated Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-1 in 57 minutes. After the match, as a player after the player decried the impossible conditions, Osaka said she had barely noticed the heat. "Actually, I do not think it's so hot," she said. "I'm sorry, I'm used to the warmth of Florida, I liked it, I like to sweat."
With this attitude, Osaka could beat more than the heat over the next few days.
