NEW YORK — Simona Halep and Stan Wawrinka beat the heat with straight-sets wins to reach the third round of a sweltering U.S. Open on Thursday while American hope Jack Sock wilted under the punishing conditions, collapsing on court.
As courtside temperatures pushed past 100 Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) at Arthur Ashe Stadium, second seeded Halep of Romania wasted little time finishing off Ukraine qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko 6-3 6-4 in just 76 minutes before escaping to the air-conditioned comfort of the players' lounge.
Fifth-seeded Swiss Wawrinka outslugged gutsy South Korean teenager Chung Hyeon, but still sweated out a 7-6(2) 7-6(4) 7-6(6) second round decision.