The US Open in New York is living up to the city's reputation for being active around the clock, with several matches extending into the early hours of the morning. This late-night scheduling has raised questions about player fairness, particularly for those competing in the men's singles semi-finals.
Alexander Zverev, the third seed, has had three of his five matches conclude after 1 a.m. "I've been to bed as late as 6:45am in the past week so I'm kind of a bit jet-lagged," Zverev stated, comparing his situation to playing the Australian Open in New York. His semi-final match was scheduled for after 3 p.m. local time, marking his first day match of the tournament. In contrast, his opponent, Karen Khachanov, had not played past midnight in any of his matches and had slightly more rest time before their semi-final, with his quarter-final ending before 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Unseeded American Ben Shelton experienced one of the latest finishes, with his quarter-final victory over Carlos Alcaraz not concluding until 3:34 a.m. on Wednesday. Shelton is set to face 11th seed Frances Tiafoe in the semi-finals. Tiafoe, however, finished his quarter-final match around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, giving him more time to recover.
"The advantage of the opponent who has played earlier in the day will be big – they've had that full evening's rest and a good night's sleep," commented Matt Little, a former strength and conditioning coach for Andy Murray. He added that even one night of poor sleep can have a significant negative impact on performance in the following days. Mingling with Manhattan commuters as they begin their workday, players like Zverev are grappling with the effects of extreme schedules on their physical readiness for crucial matches. The disparity in rest periods between competitors highlights a potential imbalance in the tournament's scheduling for its later rounds.