“I have heard this sh*t too often now, I’m sick and tired of it" - When Roger Federer was angered by claims that he influenced US Open scheduling
Roger Federer once spoke about an incident during the 2019 US Open when he was accused of manipulating the schedule for his third-round match against Dan Evans. The controversy arose after the Brit suggested that the Swiss had a hand in setting the match time to gain an advantage.
Federer defeated Sumit Nagal and Damir Dzumhur in the first two rounds, setting up a clash with Dan Evans, who had just come off two hard-fought victories against Philipp Kohlschreiber and Lucas Pouille. Their match was scheduled early the next day, giving Evans little recovery time after his tough, rain-delayed match against Pouille.
Following his 2-6, 2-6, 1-6 defeat to Federer, Evans told the media:
"That wouldn’t be the first time the higher-ranked player has had pull, so to speak. Also, the tournament obviously would rather Roger be going through that match than me. Do you think a guy with my ranking [58] has any say in that? There are probably about four people in this tournament who have a say when they play. Maybe three."
"Him being totally fresh and me battling yesterday – I didn’t get out of here until going on 6pm – just complete polar opposites, isn’t it? Trying to beat him feeling tired, stiff, playing four sets yesterday, it’s near on impossible. He played pretty much no-error tennis," he added.
When confronted by the press about the allegations, Roger Federer clarified that he wasn’t sure if his team had requested the match to be played during the day, but if they had, it wasn’t done with any intention to gain an unfair advantage.
"I don’t remember that I asked for something," the 20-time Grand Slam champion said. "It’s maybe nice to be out of the sun, as well. I don’t know. But I definitely didn’t do it intentionally. I don’t even know if the team asked for day. I knew there were questions to have a preference."
"But that doesn’t mean, like, ‘Roger asks, Roger gets.’ Just remember that. Because I have heard this sh*t too often now. I’m sick and tired of it – that, apparently, I call the shots. The tournament and the TV stations do. We can give our opinion. That’s what we do. But I’m still going to walk out there, even if they schedule me at four in the morning," he added.
Roger Federer: "You could definitely argue that the scheduling was not in Dan Evans' favor"
In the same conversation with the media, Roger Federer admitted that he did have a "competitive advantage" against Dan Evans during their third-round match at the 2019 US Open. He also acknowledged that the scheduling might not have been in the Brit's favor.
"It was always going to be a competitive advantage for me. But I have been there. I know what you’re talking about. You could definitely argue that the scheduling was not in his favor," Federer said.
"It’s not fair for me to play my match under the roof, get it done, sit back, relax the next day while he’s battling out a three-hour match against Pouille. The problem already starts there," he added.
However, the Swiss legend added that regardless of the circumstances, the show must go on:
"That’s tennis. That’s entertainment, and the show must go on. I’ve lost matches this way. I’ve won some this time. Luck was on my side. There you have it. I understand if Danny is a little bit frustrated."