Heat and humidity quickly became a major issue when the Olympic tennis tournament opened on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The temperature soared to 34 degrees and the heat index made it feel more than 38 C.<\/p>\n
"You're just not feeling great," Pavlyuchenkova said.<\/p>\n
"So I wasn't enjoying it at all."<\/p>\n
Still, Pavlyuchenkova routed Sara Errani of Italy 6-0, 6-1.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Midway through her second set, doubts started to creep into Pavlyuchenkova's head as she shoved bags of ice up her skirt on a changeover.<\/p>\n
Then she had trouble fiddling with a tube blowing cold air next to her seat.<\/p>\n
"It's not easy to find the right position because it's just on the bench and somebody has to hold it so the air is blowing on you," the Russian said.<\/p>\n
"I don't think it was well prepared."<\/p>\n
Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev, who also competes for ROC at the Tokyo Games, called it "some of the worst" heat he has played in after eliminating Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 6-4, 7-6 (8).<\/p>\n
"I'm not going to lie. But you have to play," Medvedev said.<\/p>\n
"That's the Olympics, you go for the medal. You are not here to cry about the heat."<\/p>\n
Medvedev suggested that organisers move all matches to the evening to avoid the heat of the day.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
"I don't think they are going to change anything in the middle of the tournament, but that's what can be done," he said.<\/p>\n
"I think the fact that we have only one minute between the changeovers is a joke… It should be 1:30 like it is in other tournaments."<\/p>\n
Ice melted in court-side containers.<\/p>\n
"Every time I had to take the ice pack or ice towel it wasn't cold at all," she said.<\/p>\n
"They expected the heat and it wasn't 100 per cent ready for us."<\/p>\n
Pavlyuchenkova needed more than an hour after her match to recover before talking to reporters.<\/p>\n
"I feel a bit better, but I just have a massive headache now," she said.<\/p>\n
"I think they somehow could have tried to make it a bit easier."<\/p>\n
Mona Barthel struggled with 10 double-faults in a loss to Iga Swiatek as a searing sun made it nearly impossible to see the ball once she tossed it.<\/p>\n
On one occasion, Barthel lost sight of the ball completely on her serve.<\/p>\n
"I was blinded by the sun," the German player said. "I couldn't see it anymore."<\/p>\n
There are rules for extreme heat that call for a 10 minute break between the second and third sets if players request it.<\/p>\n
Play can also be suspended if an internal advisory group deems conditions dangerous \u2014 in which case play would continue on centre court under a retractable roof.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
While Swiatek also acknowledged how "hard" it was dealing with the heat, she seemed more pleased to extend a family legacy at the Olympics.<\/p>\n
She grew up listening to stories from her father about competing at the 1988 Olympics in rowing, then won a bronze medal herself in doubles at the 2018 Summer Youth Games.<\/p>\n
Swiatek beat the 172nd-ranked Barthel 6-2, 6-2 in the opening match on Center Court.<\/p>\n
"It's just special playing for Poland and representing your country," said Swiatek, who won last year's French Open.<\/p>\n
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