The tournament director of the US Open has admitted that they have reduced the speed of their courts amid claims by Jim Courier that it was done to favour American players.
On Wednesday evening, tournament director David Brewer confirmed that the surface has been slowed down ‘a touch.’ Matching Roger Federer’s previous claim that this year’s US Open was ‘the slowest in years.’ Federer has played in the tournament 18 times throughout his career. During a recent interview with reporters in America, Brewer said that the decision was made following feedback from players.
“In the general feedback we’ve gotten from players the last couple of years, a range of players, both male and female, the commonality we seemed to have been getting was: The courts were sort of gradually creeping up in speed,” said Brewer.
“We just felt we needed to address that a little bit this year. At the same time, we wanted to ensure we had really good consistency across all courts.”
Whilst the decision has a reasonable explanation, the captain of the American Davis Cup team believes there is another motive. Courier, who was a finalist at the 1991 US Open, has claimed the decision was made to benefit American players. Courier made the statement whilst commentating for Amazon Prime in New York.
Many were quick to question the somewhat confusing theory. Last year, four American women reached the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time since 1981. Meanwhile, in the men’s draw Sam Querrey reached the quarter-finals of the event for the first time in his career.
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When questioned about Courier’s claims, Brewer has dismissed the allegations. Saying that he has made no comment during his 20-year role as tournament director.
“I’m just trying to think if we’ve ever sat down and said, ‘All right, look, what can we do to advantage American players when it comes to the court surface?’ And I don’t ever recall having that conversation in my 20 years here,” Brewer said.
In this year’s US Open, there are two American players remaining in the women’s draw. Serena Williams and Madison Keys will play their semi-final matches on Thursday evening. Meanwhile in the men’s draw, John Isner was the best performing American with a run to the last eight before losing to Juan Martin del Potro.
