Novak Djokovic says he has sympathy for organisers at the Australian Open over the criticism they have been receiving concerning late-night matches taking place at the tournament.
The world No.1 sealed his place in the semi-finals of the tournament on Tuesday with a four-set win over Taylor Fritz in a match that lasted almost four hours. However, his next opponent (Jannik Sinner or Andrey Rublev) were unable to start their match until after 10:30 p.m. local time due to the order of play.
It is not the first time that there have been concerns expressed over the matches going on until the early hours and its effects on players. Earlier in the tournament, Daniil Medvedev’s second round clash didn’t end until 3:39 a.m. which is the third-latest finish in Grand Slam history.
“No one should be playing tennis at 3:30 a.m. This is looney tunes,” former top 10 player John Isner wrote on social media.
However, Djokovic is more diplomatic when it comes to the issue as he downplays the suggestion that he will have an advantage over his next opponent. The two will not lock horns on the court until Friday.
“Scheduling has become a hot topic, so to say,” Djokovic commented during his press conference.
“It’s really up to Grand Slams and our respective tours to think about the ways to accommodate both male and female players in a proper way so we have no late finishes.”
Recently both the ATP and WTA have announced new rules aimed at reducing the number of matches going into the early hours. Under the policy, matches can not begin after 11 p.m. unless it is authorised by the tournament supervisor. However, this rule can’t be implemented at Grand Slam events as they each have their own governing body.
“We’ve seen in the past some late finishes. And I know for the crowds and for the tournament in a way it’s kind of exciting to see a 4:00 a.m. finish, a 3:00 a.m. finish. I was part of some of those but it’s not fun for us,” Djokovic commented.
“There are different ways to address this. Maybe scheduling less matches on the centre court. Doing it in one session, which is most likely not going to happen because every session carries a lot of economic value. ‘
“There’s a lot of elements that are in play. TV broadcasting pays a lot of money to the tournament and sponsors the tournament.
“It’s hard to say what the best scenario is in this case.”
In contrast, Fritz believes action needs to be taken to address the situation. This year’s Australian Open has been extended by a day in a bid for there to be better scheduling. Although this has only helped out matches that took place during the first round.
“There’s got to be something they can do to where people aren’t playing until 2:00, 3:00 a.m,” said Fritz. “I don’t think people really fully understand how much time we (the players) have to spend doing stuff after we finish playing. Ice bath, treatment with physios, massage and all this stuff. If I finish at 2:00 a.m., there is no chance I’m going to sleep until 5:00, 6:00 a.m.”
The latest match finish in Australian Open history took place in 2008 when Lleyton Hewitt’s clash against Marcos Baghdatis ended at 4:34 a.m.
