The scoreboard did not yet indicate that anything was awry, but even as Novak Djokovic led by a set in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open, he was already struggling badly.
From the second set onwards, he spent much of his time between points squatting and bending over as he desperately tried to catch his breath in the notorious Ohioan humidity. He was eventually dispatched 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 by Thiago Agustín Tirante of Argentina, who took this golden opportunity to register the biggest win of his career.
