Tennis fans battle blistering heat on 3rd day of US Open by seeking shade, knocking back cold drinks

The third day of the US Open featured scorching backhands – and temps. 

The blazing heat on Wednesday reduced tennis fanatics to puddles of sweat as the temperatures eclipsed 90 degrees in Flushing, Queens during the second round of the Grand Slam tournament.

Spectators ran for shade and knocked back cold drinks as some were more worried about battling the elements than watching players duel it out on the court.

“We aren’t interested in watching any tennis right now,” said Ohio tourist Jimmy Harrell, 56. “We are just trying to stay cool. Right now it’s the last thing on our mind.”

His fiancée Monet Warfielde called the heat “unbearable” as beads of sweat dripped down her face.

“It’s super humid,” she said. “I’m just drinking water and trying to find a shady spot.”

The couple forked over $20 for a towel for some relief, but eventually sat on the ground in a shady corner of the Grandstand at an angle where they couldn’t even watch the match taking place between American Ben Shelton and Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut. 

“I noticed it was about ten degrees cooler here so I said let’s take a seat and cool down,” Harrell said.

A video shared with The Post showed the shady section of one grandstand nearly packed to capacity while across the stadium a majority of the seats were empty. 

Florida tourist Monica Bonilla, 60, used a giant umbrella to protect herself from the punishing sun as she enjoyed a women’s doubles match on another part of the grounds.

“It’s better than Florida,” she told The Post, stressing, “I’ll take 60% humidity instead of 100% humidity, but no, it’s hard. The umbrella helps.”

Meanwhile Brigitte Branco, 61, leaned into a fan on the grounds for a short respite.

“It’s awful,” Branco, of the Hamptons, said about the weather. “It’s very humid today. I’ve been drinking a lot of water. You have to today.”

Another fan, Loha, had plenty of water, but wasn’t going to let the hot weather prevent her from drinking the Open’s famed Honey Deuce.

“We’ve been making sure it’s one (alcoholic drink) then water,” she explained. “One and one, the ratio.”

Friends Katie Baker and Isabel Mecca took cover in the air conditioned Aperol Spritz lounge – where they naturally drank Aperol Spritzes.

“We just got here so we are avoiding the heat, just wanted to relax and have a drink,” Baker, 28, said.

Wednesday was the fifth 90-plus degree day in August, including a three-day spate of hellish temps at the beginning of the month, meteorologist Jordan Overton at Fox Weather told The Post.

The highly anticipated tournament is expected to draw in a record 1 million spectators this year, organizers said Monday.

Wednesday was the first day of second-round play.

Meanwhile, swaths of New Jersey and Pennsylvania between Trenton and Philadelphia faced an even greater excessive heat warning with heat index values of up to 105 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Residents were advised to avoid excessive outdoor activity, stay hydrated and to stay in the shade or in air conditioning as much as possible.

The intense heat already forced the Metuchen School District in Middlesex County, New Jersey, to announce an early dismissal for the first day of classes on Wednesday, NJ.com reported.

Heat advisories will remain in place until 8 p.m., when thunderstorms are expected to usher in a cold front.

There will not be many storms, but those that do develop could be strong-to-severe with threats of wind gusts of over 50 mph and large hail.

Luckily for New Yorkers, residents just have to power through Wednesday before the evening storm and cold front will take things down a notch, with Thursday’s high around 78 degrees.