Scottish hero Andy Murray has voiced his frustration over the chaotic scheduling at the US Open, labelling it a “total mess” after witnessing the latest finish for a women’s match on Sunday night.
Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng triumphed in her highly anticipated rematch against Donna Vekic, with the match concluding at a staggering 2:16am.
This late-night showdown followed Aryna Sabalenka’s third-round clash with Ekaterina Alexandrova, which also made headlines for starting well after midnight.
Murray, who has experienced his fair share of late-night matches - most notably his second-round Australian Open match against Thanasi Kokkinakis in January 2023 that ended at 4:05am - took to social media to express his concerns.
He wrote: “The tennis scheduling situation is a total mess. It looks so amateurish having matches going on at 2, 3, 4am. Sort it out. @usopen @AustralianOpen @Wimbledon @rolandgarros @atptour @WTA @ITFTennis."
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Despite the late hour, Zheng appeared unfazed by her unusual schedule.
“It’s always nice to play in the night session because I’m used to it,” she said.
“It’s the first time I’ve played here in New York at two in the morning. It’s unbelievable. Thanks to the fans that aren’t sleeping tonight, supporting me here.”
In other news, British tennis player Jack Draper has made headlines of his own, reaching his first career Grand Slam quarter-final at the US Open.
The 22-year-old dominated Czech player Tomas Machac in the fourth round, becoming the first British male quarter-finalist in New York since Murray eight years ago.
“I’m incredibly proud of that achievement,” he said after a 6-3 6-1 6-2 victory.
“Obviously it’s one of the biggest tournaments in the world. To follow in Andy’s footsteps and make the quarter-finals here since he did it in 2016, it’s a big achievement for me.
“Really, really proud of that achievement and hopefully I can do more. Obviously it was a good match to come through. I’m incredibly proud.
“I lost in the round of 16 last year, so it’s amazing to come through.
“I thought it was a good match from my side. I did what I needed to do. I competed well. My level was pretty solid throughout.”
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While he aims to carve his own legacy, Draper is also aware of the remarkable feat achieved by Emma Raducanu, who won the tournament in 2021 without dropping a set - a milestone he has matched in his first four matches.
His powerful serve has played a crucial role in his success.
“I think I’m doing good things behind the serve,” Draper commented. “I think I’m finding first serves when I need to find them. I’ve saved a lot of break points with good serves and good plays.
“I think I still have got a lot of work to go on my serve as well. I think my serve is a weapon.
“Whenever I look at the stats, I think I see that my first serve when it goes in is really high percentage, but I still feel like I’m serving not amazingly well.
“So it’s really positive to know that I’m holding serve a lot, and I still feel like there’s room for improvement.”
As the tournament progresses into September, both Murray's scheduling concerns and Draper's promising performance will continue to capture the attention of tennis fans worldwide.
