New York, September 2

Five-time champion Roger Federer and 2012 winner Andy Murray reached the US Open second round on Tuesday as the crushing heat took the number of first-round retirements to a record 10.

Second-seeded Federer had little trouble in seeing off Argentina’s world No 34 Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in just 77 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 34-year-old Swiss, bidding to become the oldest champion in New York in 45 years, fired 12 aces, 29 winners and broke serve six times. “I feel good now.

I actually wasn’t so confident yesterday. I just felt like maybe it could be one of those matches I just couldn’t see coming,” said Federer. The 17-time Grand Slam champion goes on to face Belgium’s Steve Darcis, who was handed a place in the next stage when Cypriot veteran Marcos Baghdatis retired injured with a groin strain.

It was the 10th retirement in the men’s event in the first round; there have also been two pullouts in the women’s draw.

Third seed Murray downed the sport’s latest bogeyman, Nick Kyrgios, 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 for his fourth win in four meetings against the Australian and third in three Grand Slam matchups this year.

The British star, who has made at least the quarter-finals in New York every year, goes on to tackle Adrian Mannarino. Kyrgios, the world 37, goes away to contemplate facing Murray again in the Davis Cup semi-finals later this month.

Kyrgios’ Davis Cup teammate, Thanasi Kokkinakis, was also knocked out, retiring on one leg in the fifth set against French 12th seed Richard Gasquet. The 19-year-old Kokkinakis suffered severe cramping.

But he battled on, serving underhand and forced to play at walking pace before he finally gave up, losing 4-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, 2-0 after almost three hours.

After six men retired on Monday, Kokkinakis, Baghdatis, Ernests Gulbis and Kazakhstan’s Aleksandr Nedovyesov joined the walking wounded on Tuesday. Nedovyesov was down 6-0, 7-6 (7/2), 1-0 to Lleyton Hewitt when he called a halt after suffering a right shoulder injury. Hewitt will take on Bernard Tomic for a place in the last 32. Tomic, beat Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur 5-7, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-3.

Wawrinka, the fifth seed and a semi-finalist in 2013, made the next round with a 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) win over Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinoles. French Open champion Wawrinka will next tackle South Korean teenager Chung Hyeon.

Japan may have lost fourth seed Kei Nishikori on Monday, but 19-year-old Yoshihito Nishioka restored some national pride with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-7 (7/9), 6-1, 6-2 win over fellow qualifier Paul-Henri Mathieu.

In the women’s draw, Lucie Safarova joined the seeds casualty list when the Czech left-hander became the fourth top-10 player to lose in the first round. Sixth-seeded Safarova slipped to a 6-4, 6-1 defeat to Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko, the woman she beat in the semi-finals in New Haven just last week.

Safarova joins seventh seed Ana Ivanovic, eighth-ranked Karolina Pliskova and Carla Suarez Navarro, the 10th seed, in failing to get out of the first round.

World No 2 Simona Halep avoided the upsets when New Zealand opponent Marina Erakovic retired with a knee injury. Halep was leading 6-2, 3-0 when her 99th-ranked rival called it quits. Aussie Samantha Stosur, whose 2011 US Open final win over Serena Williams was the last time the US world No 1 lost at Flushing Meadows, beat Timea Babos of Hungary 6-3, 6-4.

Two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova, the fifth seed, needed just 59 minutes to beat German qualifier Laura Siegemund 6-1, 6-1.