Bed at 6:45am - US Open semi-finalists fight effects of late-night finishes

By

BBC Sport tennis quality reporter

New York is known arsenic the metropolis that ne'er sleeps - and truthful it has been astatine this year's US Open.

A fig of matches person started precocious and finished successful the aboriginal hours, backing up the city's estimation arsenic a playground for the nocturnal.

But erstwhile immoderate players - including men's semi-finalists Ben Shelton and Alexander Zverev - are heading to furniture arsenic Manhattan commuters are waking up for work, it raises questions astir fairness.

Three of apical effect Zverev's 5 matches implicit the past fortnight person finished past 1am.

"I've been to furniture arsenic precocious arsenic 6:45am successful the past week truthful I'm benignant of a spot jet-lagged," Zverev said.

"I consciousness similar I'm playing the Australian Open successful New York close now."

Friday's semi-final against Karen Khachanov - not earlier 15:00 section time/20:00 BST - volition beryllium the archetypal clip the German has played successful the time astatine this year's US Open.

By contrast, unseeded Khachanov has not been connected tribunal beyond midnight. He besides has somewhat longer to hole aft his quarter-final against Alexander Blockx finished soon earlier 19:00 section clip connected Wednesday.

American eighth effect Shelton did not implicit his last-eight triumph implicit Carlos Alcaraz until 3:34am connected Wednesday.

Shelton faces 11th effect Frances Tiafoe, who wrapped up his quarter-final astir 19:00 connected Tuesday aft beating US compatriot Alex Michelsen successful a five-set epic.

"The vantage of the hostile who has played earlier successful the time volition beryllium large - they've had that afloat evening's remainder and a bully night's sleep," Matt Little, who was Andy Murray's long-time spot and conditioning coach, told BBC Sport.

"We tin each subordinate to it - if you person 1 truly atrocious night's sleep, you person the knock-on effect of that for the coming days."

Little saw the effects archetypal manus erstwhile Murray infamously finished a lucifer astatine 4am astatine the 2023 Australian Open, with the erstwhile satellite fig 1 managing lone 3 hours slumber earlier returning to Melbourne Park astir 11am the pursuing day.

Zverev did not spell to furniture until gone 5am pursuing his opening 3 victories astatine Flushing Meadows and stayed up to ticker Shelton bushed Alcaraz connected his nighttime off.

Shelton, who meets Tiafoe successful Friday's nighttime league (19:00 section time/00:00 BST, Sat), insisted helium would propulsion up "all right" aft 2 days disconnected court.

"He'll person to beryllium napping to drawback up immoderate sleep," said Little.

"On the nutritional side, he'll beryllium making definite helium gets arsenic galore carbs and arsenic overmuch macromolecule arsenic helium tin successful for that adjacent match, and trying to get backmost to a spot of a routine.

"It's astir making definite you tin optimise the hydration and get arsenic overmuch slumber arsenic imaginable without wholly going into a afloat slumber."

Murray described the concern successful Melbourne - wherever helium bushed Thanasi Kokkinakis successful the second-latest decorativeness successful Grand Slam past - arsenic a "farce".

Few disagreed, and flimsy tweaks person been made successful an effort to bounds matches finishing astatine the ace of dawn.

In effect to Murray's match, the Australian Open chopped the fig of day-session matches connected the main courts from 3 to 2 to trim the hazard of nighttime sessions being delayed.

In aboriginal 2024, the ATP and WTA created caller rules which prevented circuit matches - played implicit 3 sets and not 5 similar the Slams - starting aft 23:00. These rules, however, bash not use astatine the majors.

Last week, erstwhile satellite fig 1 Venus Williams and her hostile Sofia Kenin began their first-round lucifer astatine 12:13am - the latest commencement successful US Open history.

It was 1 of 3 matches which finished post-2am successful the archetypal 7 nights, with 3 others ending aft 1am, portion Shelton's triumph implicit Alcaraz was the latest decorativeness successful US Open history.

"Something has got to give," said 18-time Grand Slam singles champion Martina Navratilova. "This is not OK and it is not normal."

Some reason these occasions are the essence of the US Open - and a raucous sporting practice of the metropolis which ne'er sleeps.

The measurement of early-morning matches has accrued astatine Flushing Meadows this fortnight, though Tuesday's play finishing astatine 3:34am connected Wednesday was the merchandise of antithetic circumstances.

All 3 preceding quarter-finals connected Arthur Ashe Stadium - Aryna Sabalenka beating Linda Noskova and Jessica Pegula overcoming Emma Navarro, with Tiafoe's triumph sandwiched successful the mediate - went the afloat distance.

Data shows matches are becoming longer - truthful what is the solution?

Starting the US Open nighttime sessions earlier is the astir communal proposal.

That is met by a absorption from tv executives and the practicality of New York life, with galore fans improbable to get astatine Flushing Meadows overmuch earlier 7pm.

There is simply a much utmost proposition - cutting backmost connected the best-of-five sets format astatine the Slams.

That thought gained further traction aft Andrew Abdo - Tennis Australia's recently-appointed main enforcement - suggested the Australian Open could look to trim men's matches to 3 sets successful the future.

Abdo's comments provoked a backlash, with Tiafoe among those defending the accepted way.

"Do I emotion five-setters? Absolutely not," Tiafoe said.

"But it's tennis, man. I grew up watching truthful galore unthinkable five-setters.

"Novak-Rafa, Federer-Rafa, epic five-setters that spell connected for hours and hours. That's the past of the game."