Imaginary margaritas help Caroline Wozniacki advance at extremely hot US Open

Caroline Wozniacki used imaginary margaritas to keep her cool in the searing New York heat.

The US Open has begun in extremely hot and humid conditions, with a number of players struggling and a handful of retirements in the men’s draw, but Wozniacki was untroubled in a 6-3 6-2 victory over former champion Sam Stosur.

Second seed Wozniacki is regarded as one of the fittest players on tour and, asked how she coped with the heat, the Dane said: “I just pretend I’m on the beach with a margarita in hand, life is good.”

Aside from winning the title in Eastbourne, Wozniacki has had a distinctly average season since breaking her grand slam duck at the Australian Open.

But she has a great record in New York having reached the final twice and semi-finals three times, and she said: “I feel like my body is doing good.

“When that feels good, I’m happy and I’m excited to play. I feel like my game is finding its way.”

Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber had a tougher time against Margarita Gasparyan but came through 7-6 (7/5) 6-3 while fifth seed Petra Kvitova was relieved to have a speedy 6-1 6-4 victory over Yanina Wickmayer.

The Czech is famously not a fan of extreme heat and has struggled in New York in the past, although she has made the quarter-finals in two of the last three seasons.

Kvitova said: “I knew it’s going to be very hot, but I couldn’t imagine how horrible the heat was, so it was pretty difficult conditions.

“But I just felt good from the beginning when I played a really good game. I really tried hard not to play a third (set).

“In the last couple of years, I think I kind of formed a love for New York City, so hopefully it will be same this year.”

On a good day for the seeds, there were also wins for Caroline Garcia, former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and Naomi Osaka as well as in-form duo Kiki Bertens and Aryna Sabalenka.