Hot and bothered: Temperatures rise, seeds fall in Australia

On a day when shade was a valuable commodity in the searing heat at Melbourne Park, Roger Federer played it cool at the Australian Open.

Russia's Maria Sharapova celebrates win over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova in their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Six-time champion Novak Djokovic, however, complained about the brutal conditions during his second-round win over Gael Monfils, when the temperature peaked at 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

Djokovic urged tennis organizers to be more flexible about the rules for drink breaks, time between points and suspension of play when the conditions were bordering on dangerous.

Federer, the defending champion, finished off a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over Jan-Lennard Struff a half-hour before midnight, when the temperature was still around 29 degrees C (84 degrees F), and said playing at the height of the heat wouldn't have bothered him.

Britain's Johanna Konta falls as shie plays United States' Bernarda Pera during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)

"I may have thrived in those conditions," he said. "It's definitely a challenge. It's hard to prepare for that in some ways, but you know when you come down here that can happen.

"Sure, I'm happy I played at night time. But, like I said on court, I would back myself playing during the daytime also. Used to go to Dubai when it was 45 — 38 seems almost OK."

Temperatures are expected to rise on Friday, before cooling off considerably over the weekend, when Federer and Djokovic's half of the draw is back for the third round.

United States' Bernarda Pera celebrates win over Britain's Johanna Konta during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)

Stan Wawrinka, the 2014 Australian Open champion, No. 7 David Goffin and No. 13 Sam Querrey didn't make it through the second round. Nor did Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza, one of the five seeded women's players who were eliminated on Day 4.

That left only Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber — who will meet in the next round — and French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko as Grand Slam winners in the women's draw.

Sharapova beat 14th-seeded Anastasija Sevastova 6-1, 7-6 (4) to avenge a loss in last year's U.S. Open, the five-time major champion's first Grand Slam after returning from a 15-month doping ban.

Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei celebrates after defeating Spain's Garbine Muguruza in their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Kerber, the 2016 Australian Open champion, had a 6-4, 6-1 win over Donna Vekic before the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" to celebrate her 30th birthday.

Still looking for a first major after two French Open final losses, top-ranked Simona Halep held off 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard 6-2, 6-2. Halep will next play Lauren Davis.

U.S. Open finalist Madison Keys opened with four straight aces and won the first 11 games in a 6-0, 6-1 win over 92nd-ranked Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Germany's Angelique Kerber celebrates a point win over Croatia's Donna Vekic during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)

Sixth-seeded Karolina Pliskova, No. 8 Caroline Garcia and No. 26 Agnieszka Radwanska also advanced.

Blisters from the hot court surface didn't help Muguruza in a 7-6 (1), 6-4 loss to 88th-ranked Hsieh Su-wei, who has been No. 1 in doubles but had a career-high ranking of 23rd in singles.

Ninth-seeded Johanna Konta also struggled in a straight-set loss to lucky loser Bernarda Pera, an American who is ranked 123rd and making her Grand Slam debut. Pera, who didn't even know she had a spot in the main draw until another player withdrew, will next play No. 20 Barbora Strycova.

Wawrinka left it as late as possible before deciding his knee might just be good enough to get him through the first major of the season. Clearly, the 2014 champion was too ambitious. A 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 loss to 97th-ranked Tennys Sandgren in the second round was his earliest exit in a decade here.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic, left, talks with France's Gael Monfils at the net after he won their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

"I only had surgery five months ago," said Wawrinka, who still has a visible scar running down his left knee and hadn't played since Wimbledon. "To be that far already, it's more than what we could have expected."

Wawrinka appeared lethargic and generally didn't threaten Sandgren, who had never beaten a top-10 player. His wins in the first two rounds make Sandgren 2-0 at majors.

Sandgren — his first name comes down from his great-grandfather — said he held his celebrations in check out of respect for an injured opponent.

France's Gael Monfils bends over while playing Serbia's Novak Djokovic during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Still, he added: "It's a huge deal for me, and something that if I don't ever get another accomplishment, I can at least hang my hat on this one."

Djokovic, who won four of the five Australian titles between 2011 and '16 before his shocking second-round exit last year, extended his career head-to-head domination over Monfils to 15-0.

The heat peaked during Djokovic's 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 win. Both players slouched over in the shade between points, earning warnings about time delays from the chair umpire.

The win was a relief for Djokovic, but he said officials need to be more considerate about the players in the conditions.

Now seeded 14th, Djokovic needed four match points in an eight-minute last game before clinching the win against Monfils, who needed a medical timeout for heat stress and said he had trouble breathing.

"It was obvious we both suffered on the court today," Djokovic said. "Really tough conditions — brutal."

Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, had issues with the heat but still advanced along with No. 19 Tomas Berdych, No. 21 Albert Ramos and No. 5 Dominic Thiem, who rallied to beat 190th-ranked American qualifier Denis Kudla 6-7 (6), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

Djokovic said the conditions were some of the toughest he's ever played in, and had some advice for organizers with temperatures predicted to rise to 42 degrees C (108 degrees F) on Day 5.

"There are certain days where you just have to, as a tournament supervisor, recognize that you might need to give players few extra hours," he said. "I understand there is a factor of tickets. If you don't play matches, people will be unhappy."

But he said the conditions were at the point where it becomes a "danger in terms of health."

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — More than 100 long-finned pilot whales that beached on the western Australian coast Thursday have returned to sea, while 29 died on the shore, officials said.

Ships and a spotter plane were monitoring the rescued whales in case they returned to shore, the Parks and Wildlife Service of Western Australia state regional wildlife officer Pia Courtis said.

“So far so good, they haven't made it back to shore, but we will keep monitoring them,” Courtis told reporters.

Local whale researcher Ian Wiese joined hundreds of volunteers who helped rescue the whales at Toby’s Inlet near the tourist town of Dunsborough.

“When I first arrived, there was, I think, 160 in the water — almost out of the water — and there were a couple of hundred people who were with the whales, they were trying to comfort them and make sure that their heads were out of the water so they could breathe. And then after an hour or so, all of a sudden the ones that were in the water that were still alive left and went out to sea,” Wiese said.

“They may well decide to come back to shore somewhere on another beach nearby or something — that often happens, but we’re hopeful that they won’t,” Wiese added.

A team of wildlife officers, marine scientists and veterinarians had earlier reached the scene and reported 26 dead among up to 160 stranded.

Wiese said he earlier thought 31 whales had died, but the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions later said the final death toll was 29.

In July, almost 100 long-finned pilot whales died or were euthanized after a two-day rescue attempt in a mass stranding on Cheynes Beach near the former whaling station of Albany, 355 kilometers (220 miles) southeast of Dunsborough.

Dunsborough is 285 kilometers (177 miles) by road south of Perth, Western Australia state's capital and largest city.

Based on previous strandings, including the 2023 Cheynes Beach event, euthanizing the beached whales is usually the most humane outcome, the department said in a statement.

“We always hope for the best outcome,” the statement said.

Wiese said Thursday was the third mass stranding he had responded to and the result was by far the best.

“It’s been a very good story today because normally with these sorts of strandings, you wind up with a 100 whales beaching and five or six being saved,” Wiese said.

Courtis said the whales were believed to have become stranded early Thursday.

The dead whales were dragged from the water so that their carcasses didn't attract sharks.

Marine scientist Holly Raudino said tissue samples had been taken from the dead whales to exclude potential causes of the stranding, in particular infectious disease.

Dunsborough was the scene of a mass stranding of 320 long-finned pilot whales in 1996. Only 20 died on that occasion, with rescuers returning the rest to sea.

Scientists don’t know what causes whales to strand, although it appears their location systems can be confused by gently sloping, sandy beaches.

Theories include that they are avoiding predators such as killer whales, or following a sick leader ashore. Human-made undersea noise could also interfere with their navigation.

This image supplied by Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, shows a pod of pilot whales stranded on a beach at Toby's Inlet in Western Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. Dozens of pilot whales have beached on the western Australian coast and wildlife authorities were attempting to rescue them, a state government said on Thursday.(Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions via AP)