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It appears that Waymo’s “fully self-driving” taxi service was a bit too aggressive with its 2018 launch date.

A report from The Information Tuesday paints a bleak picture out of Phoenix, Arizona, where Waymo is headquartered and seems to be experiencing glitches with its autonomous vehicles.

Merging into highway traffic, navigating around groups of people, turning left — these are just a few of the hurdles facing Waymo’s fleet of Chrysler Pacifica minivans that the company is hoping to turn into a fully autonomous taxi service. 

The minivans often drive in the center of wide roads and stop for a full three seconds at stop signs, habits that aren’t popular among some local residents. At least a dozen people told The Information, “I hate them.” 

Although Waymo claims that its fleet has self-driven more than 8 million miles, people familiar with the Waymo testing program say that the minivans still rely on remote operators to step in and help the cars in tough situations.

This is in contrast with recent messaging from Waymo and other outlets: Ellice Perez, Waymo’s head of operations, posted a brief, behind-the-scenes glance of Waymo’s process on Medium showing a factory “buzzing with teams,” and Bloomberg took a ride with a teenager who commutes to school in a Waymo van.

Yet, in an exclusive report about Waymo’s plans, The Verge reported that a “chaperone” would be in vans on initial self-driven runs.

These problems are what’s kept other startups and self-driving programs from pushing such ambitious launch dates. GM’s Cruise project is set for 2019, and Ford’s is way out in 2021.

For full autonomy, known as Level 5, researchers and experts expect that it will take tech and car firms more time to test and improve their self-driving technology. That’s why companies such as Tesla have focused on more semi-autonomous features — Level 2 self-driving skills are more attainable with an alert human ready to take over.

And within the next step of autonomy — Level 3 — there’s this murky question of whether a human driver needs to pay attention or not. 

That’s why “Waymo wants to bypass Level 3,” Cody Fleming, an engineering professor at the University of Virginia, told me earlier this year. But if Waymo’s vans still can’t merge into traffic, it might be too soon to let go of its human drivers.

Hampden or Murrayfield? West or East? History or a new start?

The Scottish FA’s board will meet on Wednesday to determine where Scotland will play their fixtures from 2020.

Proposals were submitted last month by Queen’s Park – the amateur League Two club who own Hampden – and by Scottish Rugby, which wants to lure the matches from Glasgow to Edinburgh once the existing lease expires.

Scotland manager Alex McLeish, who won 77 caps for his country, has described it as a “business” decision and said he will “go with the flow if it’s in the name of progress”.

But how will the verdict be reached? What are the pros and cons of each venue? And what has the reaction been?

How will the decision be taken?

BBC Scotland’s senior football reporter Chris McLaughlin

All seven members of the Scottish FA board met on Tuesday and had final tours of both Hampden and Murrayfield, having spent the past few days poring over thick dossiers on each bid.

They will sit down again on Wednesday morning and attempt to reach a consensus but, failing that, a simple majority would be sufficient to determine where Scotland will play from 2020.

However, a third option remains very much on the table: the board could decide they still need more time to reach a verdict.

Once an outcome is reached, the Scottish FA will first tell staff, stakeholders, the government, then make it public with a statement, likely followed by a media conference.

How have we reached this point?

The Scottish FA has an option to renew their lease on Hampden – the national team’s home since 1906 – but they commissioned a feasibility study to assess all the options.

After rejecting a proposal in January from Celtic and Rangers to share hosting of internationals and domestic cup matches, the choice boiled down to remaining at Hampden beyond 2020 or moving to Murrayfield.

League Two club Queen’s Park, the owners of the national stadium, agreed in principle in March to sell Hampden to the Scottish FA – a development thought to make it more likely the governing body would keep hosting games at the national stadium.

But various hurdles – including the cost of such a deal – do not make it a foregone conclusion.

Hampden – the pros and cons

The stadium in Glasgow’s south side has been hosting Scotland’s matches since 1906, as well as the majority of Scottish League Cup and Scottish Cup finals – and latterly semi-finals too – since 1903.

It is regarded by many, including a majority of former players and managers, as the “spiritual home” of Scottish football.

But that emotional attachment is partially offset by complaints from fans about poor infrastructure and transport links, and a distance between the stands and the action when seated behind the goals.

Not everyone agrees, though. Darryl Broadfoot, a former Scottish FA communications director, says “there is a mythology over Hampden’s transport problems”.

“There are actually three train stations in the vicinity,” he says. “The problem is enough trains going there, which is a conversation, or at least a demand, that has to be placed on the rail provider.”

Hampden’s current capacity is just under 52,000, but it is rarely full for Scotland games and some domestic cup semi-finals.

Some have suggested reducing the capacity to about 35,000 and bringing the two stands behind the goals closer to the pitch.

If the Scottish FA opts to buy the stadium from Queen’s Park, it would not only incur the reported £2m cost but also a potential redevelopment bill, which could have knock-on effects on the funding member clubs receive.

Stewart McDonald, the SNP MP for Glasgow South, says: “There is absolutely no reason, with the right commitment from all of those interested, why we can’t modernise the Hampden experience and keep Scottish football in its rightful home.”

Murrayfield – the pros and cons

The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU), which owns Murrayfield, says it is the “largest and best stadium in Scotland”.

It is certainly the largest – with a capacity of 67,144 – and the organisation says that extra capacity and the extra ticket receipts it could yield would allow the Scottish FA to generate “significant sums for the betterment of the Scottish game”.

Murrayfield boasts good tram and bus links from Edinburgh airport, the city centre and the capital’s two train stations – Waverley and Haymarket – with the stadium a 20-minute walk from the latter.

It has staged football before, with Celtic playing European fixtures there in 2014 while Celtic Park was in use for the Commonwealth Games, and Hearts staging four Premiership matches at the ground last autumn while Tynecastle was being redeveloped.

Edinburgh Council leader Adam McVey says the stadium has put together a “comprehensive and compelling bid” and that it is an opportunity to “embrace a new era”.

However, critics will point to similar problems in terms of some fans being far away from the pitch and a lack of trains at peak times.

Some, too, rail against the idea of Scottish football’s governing body effectively putting money into rugby, rather than keeping it in their own sport.

What do the pundits think?

Former Scotland midfielder Michael Stewart

This is the perfect scenario: you redevelop Hampden into a tighter 35,000-seater stadium and you utilise Murrayfield for the big games. Then for games against Albania, for example, you go to other stadia – Pittodrie or Easter Road or Tynecastle – because you wouldn’t even get 35,000.

Ayr United boss and ex-Queen’s Park and Rangers player Ian McCall:

It is unthinkable we move from Hampden. Most Scottish people would be devastated – it is our spiritual home. There would be an enormous emotional backlash. Some things in this day and age have got to be sacred. Some things are emotive, and have to stay emotive – that is what Scottish football is.

BBC Scotland chief sports writer Tom English

I would move it around the country but, given the two options, I would go for a redeveloped Hampden. It would be a seismic call to leave Hampden and for the life of me I cannot see this board exposing themselves to the kind of backlash that would follow if they picked Murrayfield.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump supports “full accountability” in assessing the death toll in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria, a top aide said Tuesday, but the White House did not directly address a new estimate that pegs that number in the thousands.

Responding to a George Washington University study that found nearly 3,000 people died in last year’s storm, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the Trump administration supports “ensure a full accountability and transparency of fatalities.”

“The American people, including those grieving the loss of a loved one, deserve no less,” Sanders said in a statement.

From September 2017 to February 2018, 2,975 people died, according to the study by George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, which was commissioned by the Puerto Rican government. That is a stunning increase over the 64 deaths counted by Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello’s administration.

Sanders did not comment directly on whether the White House agrees with the study’s findings. Trump’s administration faced criticism at the time for its response to the storm.  

A senior White House official described the study as taking a more expansive view of how mortality is counted following a disaster and said the Trump administration had already adopted recommendations made in an after action report from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  

“The devastating back-to-back hurricanes were met with the largest domestic disaster response mission in history,” Sanders said in the statement. “We are focused on Puerto Rico’s recovery and preparedness for the current Hurricane season.”

More: Nearly 3,000 people died in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria

Related: Puerto Rico acknowledges much higher death toll from Hurricane Maria

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At Facebook, some employees have joined an online group to complain about what they say are the company’s left-leaning politics, reports the New York Times. 

It’s named FB’ers for Political Diversity, and was created by Brian Amerige, a senior engineer at the social media giant.

Amerige wrote a post called “We Have a Problem With Political Diversity” on Facebook’s internal message board, which was shared with the Times.

“We are a political monoculture that’s intolerant of different views,” reads the post. “We claim to welcome all perspectives, but are quick to attack — often in mobs — anyone who presents a view that appears to be in opposition to left-leaning ideology.”

The Times said around 100 Facebook employees have joined the group, according to “two people who viewed the group’s page and who were not authorized to speak publicly.” The company has more than 25,000 employees. 

The group says its aim is to “create a space for ideological diversity” within the company, but the post has also received criticism. One engineer told the Times that several employees have complained to their managers about the post. 

Google faced a similar problem when former engineer, James Damore, sent around a memo arguing that the lack of diversity in tech was due to women being biologically inferior to men. As you might expect, it didn’t go over so well, and Damore was fired shortly after the memo was sent. He is now part of a class-action lawsuit against the company. 

Despite claims from people like Donald Trump that Silicon Valley is suppressing conservative voices, right-wing viewpoints from sites like Breitbart have largely flourished on the network. According to a 2017 analysis by social media monitoring company NewsWhip, liberal publishers only see half the engagement of conservative pages.

Facebook has also been accused of letting hate speech — especially from those on the alt-right — flourish on the site, something it’s still figuring out how to deal with.

Five-time champion Roger Federer breezed into the US Open second round with a routine victory over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka at Flushing Meadows.

Federer, 37, needed one hour and 52 minutes to win 6-2 6-2 6-4 in the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The Swiss great hit 56 winners compared to just 17 from his 177th-ranked opponent.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner will play France’s Benoit Paire in the second round in New York.

“I’m very happy with how I played tonight. It is particularly tough for us Europeans because we don’t get this type of humidity. You are sweating so much you don’t know what has hit you,” Federer said.

“It is tough so you are happy when you survive a day like this.”

Federer looks to regain US Open dominance

Federer, playing in the US Open main draw for the 18th time, is bidding for an eighth men’s final in New York – which would equal the record set by Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl.

The Swiss dominated the tournament between 2004 and 2009, winning 41 successive matches before losing to Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro in the final nine years ago.

Since then he has only reached one final – when he lost to Novak Djokovic in 2015 – and says claiming the US Open trophy again this year is a “bigger priority”.

And the second seed started his quest by despatching Nishioka with his usual effortless grace in what was largely a straightforward win.

Federer broke his opponent’s serve in the first game of the match, then again in the fifth, while allowing Nishioka to win just seven receiving points in the first set.

The onslaught continued in the second set as Federer raced 3-0 ahead, before he clinically turned three break points for Nishioka into a hold with the help of three aces.

Understandably Nishioka’s spirit diminished further as the Australian Open champion, enjoying himself with a full repertoire of shots, continued to dominate.

After wrapping up the second set, Federer continued to be aggressive in the third and again grabbed a double break to lead 4-0.

Sloppiness surprisingly crept into his game as Nishioka saved a match point at 5-2, before Federer missed an overhead volley at deuce which was wrongly called in and not challenged by his opponent.

Federer conceded the game amid confusion among the crowd on Ashe, and then was broken for the first time in the following game when Nishioka converted his sixth break point of the set.

But he regained his composure to wrap up victory and continue his flawless first-round record at Flushing Meadows.

Ron DeSantis, a three-term Republican congressman backed by President Donald Trump, will face Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, a progressive black Democrat, in a nationally-watched November general election that will test the president’s influence.

Republican primary voters overwhelmingly supported DeSantis in Tuesday’s election over Adam Putnam, a 20-year political veteran once considered the front-runner until Trump interjected.

Democrats backed Gillum, who received the support of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and other progressives across the country despite the shadow cast over his administration by a federal investigation.

With the race called for DeSantis minutes after polls closed, Putnam addressed supporters just before 8:20 p.m.

“When one door closes another one opens,” Putnam said. “Let’s not dwell on the closed one tonight but instead on putting Florida first.”

While Florida Republicans handed Trump a victory by nominating his pick U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, the biggest upset of the night was Democrats electing Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, who is the state’s first African-American party nominee.

The 39-year-old was the only candidate in the five-person Democratic primary to repeatedly call for Trump’s impeachment, an attack that is likely to set an early tone to the general election race against DeSantis, who’s gubernatorial bid has so far been based on a platform built by Trump’s endorsement.

Gillum’s neck-to-neck surprise victory over former Congresswoman Gwen Graham, who was the first Democrat to jump in the race and early on was considered the front-runner, shocked the political world—and even some of his supporters.

“If you had told me six months ago that we would be here right now, I would not have believed it,” said Tallahassee City Commissioner Curtis Richardson.

What catapulted him to the top toward the end of the race was the endorsement of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who first tweeted his support for the underdog candidate and then rallied alongside him in Tampa and Orlando.

“To make sure Florida moves in a different direction—a progressive direction—we need to make him the next governor in the state,” Sanders told Floridians a couple of week before the primary election.

DeSantis stands opposite to that ideology. As he took the stage in an Orlando hotel conference room, he made sure to thank Trump for his support as well as the crew of celebrities that helped him on the campaign trail like Fox News political commentator Sean Hannity.

In the crowded Democratic primary for governor, voters also considered former Congresswoman Gwen Graham, who was considered the early front-runner; former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine; Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene; and Orlando businessman Chris King.

Graham, who represented a conservative north Florida district in Congress, had been in the race the longest, and early on was considered the front-runner. That status was challenged over the summer by Levine, who used nearly $27 million of his personal money to swamp Florida’s 10 expensive media markets starting in November, far earlier than any other candidate on TV.

The 55-year-old’s primary rivals have poked holes in her congressional voting record and criticized her for being too conservative and not progressive enough to be the Democratic nominee.

While in Congress, for example, Graham voted for the Keystone XL pipeline and her primary foes have attacked her for not voting often enough with President Barack Obama . She also has been hit for denying taking political contributions from the sugar industry, which is a central focus for many Florida voters concerned about toxic algae.

As her male opponents attacked her in debates, Graham coined the phrase “Gwen and the men” in the race. 

Graham and Levine later were challenged with the entrance in the race of Greene, a brash Democrat who made a failed U.S. Senate bid in 2010. He quickly spent $37 million from his own wealth for television ads, a move that cut into voters supporting Levine, and again gave Graham her front-runner status.

Previously:

Greene and Levine are both wealthy South Florida Jewish candidates, and from the first moment Greene entered the race, most observers believed he and Levine would fight for the same pool of voters.

Greene attacked Levine in television ads, most notably one called “Levine Latrine” which used stock video footage from other countries in an attempt to poke holes on the former mayor’s environmental record.

Greene’s campaign, though, unexpectedly pulled nearly all of his television ads last week, which was viewed as a white flag. Across the vast state of Florida, it’s important to be on TV to reach voters in the final days of the campaign. Greene also canceled his election night party, another sign he didn’t see the likelihood of a win.

Gillum has been perceived as the most progressive Democrat in the race. The 39-year-old had the backing of longtime national Democratic donors Tom Steyer and George Soros, and a long list of liberal Hollywood celebrities. His campaign has been pushing the message of a late “surge” in recent weeks, but most public polling had him behind the top tier candidates.

For Republicans, the story has been Trump. As soon as he formally endorsed DeSantis, Putnam’s double-digit polling lead and money advantage evaporated. DeSantis became the favorite in the race even though the Iraq war veteran is fairly new to Florida’s political scene.

But not Putnam, whose plans to become Florida’s next governor have been decades in the making.

The 44-year-old started his career as an elected official at the age of 22 as a state House representative. The fifth-generation Floridian then went on to serve five years in Congress representing the Central Florida-based 12th congressional district.

With decades of experience in public office, he came into the governor’s race and quickly out-raised all candidates. But spending nearly $30 million against DeSantis seemed not enough to blunt his rise with the power of Trump. DeSantis only spent $16 million in an eight-month period.

Toward the end of the race, Putnam’s fundraising dried up and money from Florida’s political players shifted to DeSantis. This also came after mistakes made by Putnam’s state agency since 2012 were made public. Some errors that haunted his candidacy included lapses in background checks needed to issue concealed weapon permits.

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The internet is invested in the tale of Johny, Papa, and their sugary deceit. 

“Johny Johny Yes Papa” is probably one of the more terrible things to curse your timeline recently. The nightmarish nursery rhyme went viral over the past week, drawing hundreds of thousands of new people into its lore. 

In the most shared version, a child with an absurdly large head sneaks out of bed to gorge on sugar cubes when his father — known only as “Papa” — sternly calls out “Johny” and breaks into a Gangnam Style-type dance. 

When Johny denies eating sugar, Papa asks if he’s “telling lies” while emphatically doing the wave. Johny denies telling lies, so Papa orders Johny to open his mouth and then absolutely nails Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” footwork as he confronts his deceitful son.

Caught in the lie, Johny belts out in deranged laughter and lifts his hands, spinning around like he’s performing some sort of playful demonic possession. 

Since that tweet, Johny, Papa, and their fixation on sugar inspired memes about their strange storyline.

The video is one of many “Johnny Johnny” spin offs — sometimes spelled “Johny Johny” — which are often paired with bad claymation, strange animation, and absolutely awful singing. One of the first versions of the nursery rhyme was uploaded in 2009, according to Know Your Meme. Three years later, another children’s channel posted a version of “Johnny Johnny,” where the father looked oddly similar to Peter Griffin from Family Guy. The song took off (as much as a nursery rhyme could) with ChuChuTV’s 2013 rendition, which portrayed a young boy named Johny who crawls out of the bed he shares with his father to eat spoonfuls of pure sugar. It now has more than 480 million views. 

In 2014, YouTube channel EdukayFUN posted this hellish version featuring terribly 3D animation and absurd body modifications. The corrupted version of the song was briefly taken down, and then reposted this year. Since then, increasingly bizarre versions of the kid’s song have flooded YouTube — some of which are available on YouTube Kids, the child-friendly version of YouTube which has been scrutinized in the last year for inappropriate content. 

Although this hellish version of Johny Johny isn’t available on the kids app, reaction videos that show clips or mirrors of EdukayFUN’s disturbing animations are accessible to kids on the app. 

Some, like the version from WOA Teddo Channel embedded below, have blatant rip offs of popular characters. The Hulk and Batman make an appearance in what appears to be a cautionary tale about getting teeth pulled after eating too much candy. Later in the video, a clay Spiderman nearly kills the Hulk by squeezing him through a French fry cutter before a horrified Elsa stops them both and demonstrates the tool brutally shredding a potato. 

The videos don’t always include that haunting nursery rhyme. Instead, videos with “Johnny” or “Papa” in the title appear to be an SEO grab for nonsensical videos geared toward kids. 

This video posted by YouTube channel Vlad Bibabo, for example, is titled “johnny johnny rhymes” but tells a completely different story. 

A green woman and child — presumably the Hulk’s wife and son — gorge on bright orange cheese puffs. They take the sleeping Hulk’s cheese puffs, fill a bathtub with the carb-loaded snacks, and have the time of their lives in the makeshift ball pit. Their shenanigans wake up the Hulk, who storms into the bathroom and threatens to pummel them in a cheese-driven rage. Using a magic wand, the Hulk manages to turn her abusive husband into a stuffed toy and then triumphantly buries him in puffs. 

The sketch shows just how weird YouTube content for kids can be — many of the videos made for children are educational and have some sort of moral to pass on, but have perplexing ways of doing so. 

In the series produced by Billion Surprise Toys, the same channel whose dancing Johny video took over Twitter, Johny’s family appears with a sentient refrigerator who inexplicably calls Johny’s parents “Papa” and “Mommy.” 

Instead of asking the refrigerator if it’s eating sugar, various characters ask it for food and drinks. The fridge appears to have no agency over the contents of its body: despite denying that it contains water, sauces, and ice cream, its human family members demand that it open its door. The fridge does so without any hesitation and hands over the snacks. 

The video takes a questionable turn at 1:32 when the fridge sees a character named Chiya approaching and hunches over, defeated. When the refrigerator backs away from him and refuses his request for chocolate, Chiya forces the refrigerator open and chocolate bars spill from its shelves.

While kids behaving badly is a common theme in these videos, there’s just something weird about a 3D-rendered child violating a talking fridge.

The videos produced by Billion Surprise Toys are scattered with uncomfortable situations that aren’t explained at all. In another video about getting ready for the day, Johny shares a bed with an adult-sized being named “Ice Cream Man.” According to the character bio on Billion Surprise Toy’s website, Ice Cream Man “loves to give hugs and cuddle.” 

At the end of the “getting ready” video, Johny and Ice Cream Man smuggle lollipops in bed before falling asleep together. 

And in this version, Johny is a child-size pink bus who shares a bed with the child we’ve previously known as Johny. The song is identical to the previous video, but in this animation, everyone except the original Johny is a bus. The bus-creature even has bus arms and unsettling bus hands to eat forbidden snacks, and boards a bigger bus to ride to school. 

The carrier bus does not appear to be sentient.

Billion Surprise Toys also produced this educational video to teach children about colors which shows crying babies being fed gum balls. When a floating green gum ball is placed in the infant’s mouth, the baby’s skin tone morphs into a sickly shade of green. It repeats for every corresponding color. 

Last year, Mashable reported that graphic, violent videos managed to slip past YouTube Kids’ moderation and could be easily accessed by young kids. Although none of the Johny Johny videos are explicitly harmful toward children, they do present uncomfortable scenarios. It shows that there’s something still off about the content aimed at kids on YouTube. 

The YouTube Kids app is a sort of an atonement for its previous lack of moderation. In April, BuzzFeed reported that YouTube planned to keep creepy videos away from children with a team of actual humans who would hand-curate appropriate videos. It appears that some still slip through the cracks. 

And moderating videos on the app alone may not be enough. While not all of the videos featured here are accessible through YouTube Kids, it’s clear that they were still targeted at a young audience. Between animations that fall right in the uncanny valley and disturbing storylines, YouTube’s early childhood videos should concern you. 

If you want to ensure that your kids are watching appropriate content, maybe YouTube isn’t the place. After all, would you trust an anonymous stranger on the internet to teach your children?

On the bright side, we’re getting some fucking weird memes from this nightmare fuel. 

Six months ago, Ed Sheeran threw us all for a loop when he insisted that his upcoming fourth album is “not a pop album.” And lest you think he was kidding or exaggerating, the singer-songwriter has doubled down on that claim in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, in which he describes the follow-up to 2017’s ÷ (Divide) as “completely out of [his] comfort zone.”

“I don’t think there’s an acoustic guitar on it,” Sheeran spilled. “Which, to be an acoustic singer-songwriter, it’s different. But it’s not an album or a mixtape or anything, it’s just a collection of songs that will just come out.”

Asked to elaborate further, the 27-year-old said that he wants to “clear the air” before his next big project, so he plans to unceremoniously drop new music that won’t constitute an actual album — kind of like Drake did with More Life, which bridged the time between Views and Scorpion.

“If I came out with an album next, people would compare it to ÷ and want it to be bigger and sell more,” Sheeran explained. “I kind of learned from looking at how Drake does it. Drake puts out these albums that are huge but then in between he sticks out projects and however big the project is, it doesn’t really matter because it’s not the album, if that makes sense. It just clears the air for the next album.”

Sheeran isn’t just inspired by Drake’s business strategy — he’s also hoping to work with the Toronto rapper at some point, predicting that they’d make “an interesting song” together. That potential collaboration would almost certainly birth a smash — considering they’re two of the streaming era’s most dominant artists — and Sheeran is determined to make it happen.

“I feel like at some point, me and Drake need to do something,” Sheeran told EW. “I feel like it’s inevitable… I’ve only met him a couple of times. I don’t even know if it’s in the cards. I’d like to think he has the same mindset as me.”

Your move, Drake!

Novak Djokovic struggled in the New York humidity before recovering to beat Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in the US Open first round at Flushing Meadows.

Djokovic, aiming for a 14th Grand Slam title, won 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-0.

The Serb, 31, was unsteady on his feet and asked for a sick bucket to be put next to his chair in the second set.

Fucsovics then faded and Djokovic won the last 10 games, with the players taking a 10-minute heat break between the third and fourth sets.

It was the first time US Open organisers implemented an extreme heat policy in men’s matches.

“I was praying that I got to feel better because I wasn’t feeling great for most of the first three sets,” said sixth seed Djokovic.

“I want to thank the US Open for allowing us to have a 10-minute break after the third set. We both needed it.”

Wimbledon champion Djokovic, who won the men’s title at Flushing Meadows in 2011 and 2015, will meet American Tennys Sandgren in the second round.

Roger Federer beat Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2 6-2 6-4 in Tuesday’s night session and is a possible quarter-final opponent for Djokovic.

Djokovic locks into ‘survival mode’

Humidity has been an issue for the players in the opening two days at Flushing Meadows, where temperatures have climbed above 32C (90F).

Four players were forced to retire from matches on Tuesday, with United States Tennis Organisation (USTA) managing director Chris Widmaier saying two were “certainly heat-related” withdrawals.

As well as Djokovic’s issues, Fucsovics also needed the trainer as both players asked for multiple ice towels during changeovers.

World number 41 Fucsovics also appeared to pick up an injury and limped away from court afterwards.

“We obviously both struggled. You could see that. Towards the end of the third we started to play a bit better, at least from my side,” said Djokovic.

“Before that it was survival mode.”

The WTA has an extreme heat policy in place of the female players, unlike the men’s ATP, which has a discretionary rule.

Widmaier said the decision was made after the USTA consulted its medical team and applied it to matches taking place around 1pm local time.

The ruling offered the break to both players after the third set and was taken if either or both of the players wanted it.

Djokovic and Fucsovics were the first players to enforce it, breaking off two hours 22 minutes into the match, and used the time to have ice baths – in tubs next to each other.

“You’re battling with a guy for two and a half hours and aren’t finished and then you’re naked in the ice baths,” joked Djokovic.

“It was quite a magnificent feeling.”

Zverev through for the loss of just five games

In other men’s first-round matches, fourth seed Alexander Zverev cruised past Canada’s Peter Polansky, winning 6-2 6-1 6-2 and will face Frenchman Nicolas Mahut next.

Seventh seed Marin Cilic progressed after Romanian Marius Copil retired with the Croatian leading by two sets to love. He will face Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz after his opponent Stefano Travaglia pulled out when trailing 6-2 2-6 7-6 (8-6) 3-0.

Hyeon Chung’s opponent also retired – the South Korean 23rd seed was a set down but recovered to win the next two before Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis pulled out.

Veteran Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 36, knocked out Italian 22nd seed Marco Cecchinato 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-4.

David Goffin, the 10th seed, beat Italian Federico Gaio 6-2 6-4 7-5 (7-5) to set up a second-round tie with Robin Haase.

Dutchman Haase came from two sets down to win 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-1 6-3 against American Mackenzie McDonald in a match which lasted more than three hours.

France’s Richard Gasquet beat Japan’s Yuichi Sugita 6-3 6-1 6-3 while compatriot Gael Monfils defeated Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis 7-6 3-6 6-0 6-0.

Japanese 21st seed and Wimbledon quarter-finalist Kei Nishikori will face Monfils in the next round after defeating German Maximilian Marterer 6-2 6-2 6-3.

But French 29th seed Adrian Mannarino was beaten 6-1 6-1 4-6 6-4 by American Frances Tiafoe on the Grandstand court.

Imagine that: A Hollywood star and a rock icon get married and don’t feel obligated to announce it, let alone live-stream it to the world. Thank you, Daryl Hannah and Neil Young. 

We still don’t know if longtime lovers Young, 72 (stalwart of such immortal bands as Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), and Hannah, 57 (star of 1984 mermaid rom-com “Splash”), really are married now, but some of their friends and fans are nevertheless offering effusive congratulations on social media. So let’s just go with it.  

As always, a London tabloid, The Mirror, was first to pick up on the scent of wedding bouquets, when Hannah posted a cryptic-yet-evocative picture on her Instagram page of a snowy white owl perched in what looks like an old, ramshackle barn.

“Someone’s watching over us…. love & only love,” Hannah captioned the picture.  

The Mirror reported the duo got married Saturday in Atascadero, a city about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles and close to the California coast.

This followed an earlier ceremony aboard Young’s yacht in the San Juan Islands, the archipelago off the northwest corner of the U.S., according to The Mirror. 

Congratulations soon popped up in the comments section under her caption. 

“Yaaaaaaaaaaay in every sense. And so sorry not to be there. Love you  ” posted CNN commentator Sally Kohn. 

“You are the whisperer to all the animals ..birds and bees follow you and protect you what a beautiful time of love and magic,” posted Rosanna Arquette.

“I’m glad you found each other…two hearts of Gold.   ” posted Judy Greenberg, a self-described fan of Young “and all his friends.”

“Congratulations to you both. I hope you continue to find happiness,” posted Robert Garriot. 

Over on Facebook, a guitarist named Mark Miller posted congrats, too.

“Congratulations to Daryl Hannah and Neil Young on their wedding today. May they have a long and happy relationship,” his post read. 

“Congratulations Neil Young and Daryl Hannah!” tweeted ThrashersWheat, a Young fan.

It’s not implausible that Young and Hannah would get married: The two have been lovers since at least 2014, when Young and his former wife, Pegi Young, split up after 36 years of marriage and two children. 

By that point, People reported, the two had been dating for months and didn’t really hide it. 

Hannah, who had roles in memorable movies such as “Steel Magnolias” and “Blade Runner,” more recently has appeared in the Netflix series “Sense8.” She’s also moved on to making her own films.

A longtime political and environmental activist, she has never been married but was in relationships with another rock star, Jackson Browne, and with the late John F. Kennedy Jr. 

In recent years, Hannah has made a splash by getting arrested in anti-pipeline protests in Texas and in Washington, and by being among the scores of women who have accused shamed movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual abuse. 

Earlier this year, Young and Hannah merged their professional and personal lives. Young starred in Netflix’s “Paradox,” a film written and directed by Hannah and described by reviewers as “a surreal, whimsical cowboy tale” in which Young heads a gang of outlaws looking for treasure in a post-apocalyptic wilderness.

By the way, USA TODAY reached out to reps for Young and Hannah; no response yet. 

 

 

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