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Defending champion Kim Clijsters and two-time winner Venus Williams advanced to the third round at the U.S. Open in straight-sets wins that were overshadowed by a concussed Victoria Azarenka’s collapse on the court.

Azarenka, a 21-year-old on the rise in the WTA rankings, paused about a half-hour into her second-round match against Argentina’s Gisela Dulko, then staggered, stumbled and collapsed to the court on Wednesday.

The 10th-seeded Azarenka rolled over to rest her head on her arm, and a trainer rushed over. She eventually was helped into a wheelchair, her yellow visor askew atop her head, then taken to a hospital, where tests showed she had a mild concussion.

As a record-breaking summer suffocates New York, the temperature on the courts at Flushing Meadows topped 100 F (38C). But tournament referee Brian Early said Azarenka’s problem did “not seem to be primarily a heat-related illness.”

Indeed, Azarenka herself later revealed she fell in the gym while warming up before the match, banging her head and arm in the gym.

“I was checked by the medical team before I went on court and they were courtside for monitoring. I felt worse as the match went on, having a headache and feeling dizzy,” said Azarenka, who is from Belarus but lives part of the year in Arizona.

Azarenka began wobbling early against Dulko, taking extra time between points and wincing occasionally, clearly in distress. Azarenka said she “started having trouble seeing and felt weak.”

It was by far the most stunning developing on Day 3 of a tournament that produced some surprising results on the scoreboard, including 18-year-old American qualifier Ryan Harrison’s 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4 victory over 15th-seeded Ivan Ljubicic, and unseeded Michael Llodra-s 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-4 upset of Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych.

Winners included No. 4-seeded Andy Murray, the 2008 runner-up; No. 12 Mikhail Youzhny; No. 14 Nicolas Almagro; and No. 20 Sam Querrey, who beat NCAA singles champion Bradley Klahn 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.

At night, Clijsters reached the third round by beating 201st-ranked qualifier Sally Peers of Australia 6-2, 6-1.

Venus Williams, who counts the 2000 and 2001 U.S. Opens among her seven Grand Slam singles titles, struggled for a bit against 193rd-ranked qualifier Rebecca Marino of Canada before pulling out a 7-6 (3), 6-3 win.

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