"Was told the Coco Gauff camp was pushing hard for a day session" - Tennis journalist on whether US Open QF schedule was 'unfair' to Jelena Ostapenko
Discussions about Coco Gauff's win over Jelena Ostapenko in the 2023 US Open quarterfinal have largely revolved around the scheduling decisions made by the New York Major. Tennis journalist Jon Wertheim has now weighed in on whether the order of play was biased against the Latvian.
Gauff advanced to her maiden US Open semifinal after securing a dominant 6-0, 6-2 win over Ostapenko in just 68 minutes. The Latvian's crushing defeat was particularly disappointing, considering she had knocked out top seed and defending champion Iga Swiatek in the previous round.
Following the match, a fan questioned Jon Wertheim on whether the scheduling was "unfair" to the Latvian. This was because of the late-night finish to her win over Swiatek on Sunday and her quarterfinal match being scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
"Do you think it's unfair the USTA scheduled Ostapenko as last on Sunday and first on today?" the fan asked.
In response, Wertheim opined that the first question posed to Jelena Ostapenko after her loss would centre around the same topic. He also mentioned having received information that Coco Gauff's team had actively advocated for a day session for the quarterfinal.
"This is the first question Ostapenko will be asked... I was told the Gauff camp was pushing hard for a day session today - as they should have been... Scheduling is when players learn how much juice they truly have. Coco (in New York) is dripping...," Wertheim responded.
"I think it was better for her, the schedule" - Jelena Ostapenko raises complaints about US Open scheduling after QF defeat to Coco Gauff
Following her defeat to Coco Gauff, Jelena Ostapenko disclosed that she had faced difficulty in recovering from her late-night match against Iga Swiatek. She explained that she struggled to fall asleep due to the adrenaline rush she experienced after her win.
"I didn't really feel physically very tired, but I felt like I didn't really recover from that night. Because as I said, I got back to the hotel around, like, 2:00 a.m. and even I tried to go to sleep at 3:00 in the morning, but I had all this adrenaline, and it was impossible to fall asleep," she said in her post-match press conference.
Additionally, the 26-year-old stated that the scheduling for the quarterfinal favored Coco Gauff as she had played earlier in the day on Sunday.
"Then when you go to sleep at 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning, the whole day where you need a few days just to recover. I think it's a little bit crazy. I think it was better for her the schedule, because obviously she played much earlier the day I played night session," she added.
Ostapenko also revealed that the schedule caught her by surprise because she had been told by the organizers that she would have the night session for her quarterfinal clash.
"The thing was that when I asked the day before, I was pretty sure I'm going to play a night session because that's what they told me. When the schedule came out, I saw I'm playing first match and was, like, 'Wow, that's a little bit strange scheduling,'" she said.
Following her win over Ostapenko, Coco Gauff will lock horns with Karolina Muchova for a place in the 2023 US Open final.