seven quit their matches on Monday as the toll of late season injuries and the searing heat presented severe challenges at the US National Tennis Center.
Among other shortened matches, Australian Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 US Open winner, advanced 6-0 7-6(2) 1-0 when Aleksandr Nedovyseov of Kazakhstan retired.
Misfortune favoured the French and went the other way for the Aussies when 12th seed Richard Gasquet advanced 4-6 6-1 4-6 6-3 2-0 when Thanasi Kokkinakis retired.
Other players were sorely tested on the court.
Three players in the bottom half of the men’s draw had to go the distance under the sun, including French 11th seed Gilles Simon, who looked to have iced victory after taking a 6-2 6-4 3-0 lead over American Donald Young.
But the Frenchman stumbled, and the 26-year-old American, once hailed as the next great US player, saw an opportunity and turned the match upside down for a 2-6 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 win.
“I really had it on my racquet,” said Simon. “I was not able to do anything on the tennis court. I think Donald realised it and then played what he had to play to take me down in five sets. It’s a terrible result for me today.
“In another wrenching defeat for France, Paul-Henri Mathieu fell to Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in five sets.
The 128th-ranked Yoshihito Nishioka, who saw fourth-seeded compatriot and 2014 finalist Kei Nishikori drummed out in five sets on Monday, booked himself into the second round with a 6-4 2-6 6-7(7) 6-1 6-2 victory.
Dutchman Robin Haase also made a Houdini-like escape against Germany’s Dustin Brown to register a 4-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 6-4 victory.
On the women’s side, second seed Simona Halep of Romania also had an abbreviated match as she advanced 6-2 3-0 after 47 minutes on court as New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic retired with a knee injury.
Also sprinting to victory was fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki, who dismissed US national college champion Jamie Loeb 6-2 6-0, and fifth-seeded, two-times Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova beat Germany’s Laura Siegemund 6-1 6-1.
The women’s draw continued to produce upsets as Czech sixth seed and French Open finalist Lucie Safarova fell 6-4 6-1 to Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko.
Fourteenth seed Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland was also shown the door, sent out by 42nd-ranked Czech Barbora Strycova 7-5 6-0.
“I wasn’t surprised (by the upsets), it is normal,” said 23-year-old Halep. “Everyone is fighting like crazy because it’s the last grand slam (of the year).”