"Wasn't that difficult"- Martina Navratilova reacts as her 'spot-on' prediction about plenty of upsets at US Open post-Olympics fatigue comes to light
Martina Navratilova reacted on being correct about predicting that players would have it tough at the US Open. A lot of well-known players have been eliminated in the first week of the New York Major.
Navratilova had said shortly after the completion of the Wimbledon final that players would find it difficult on hard courts due to the added fatigue after the Olympics. The tennis legend hinted that there would be upsets during the US Open.
"It’s easier to go back on clay which you just played on a few weeks ago, than to go on the hard courts. That’s when the body starts giving in, because the hard courts are much harder on the body. Surface wise I don’t think the players will have an issue. It’s just the emotional and physical toll of playing another massive event in the middle of the summer," Navratilova said as quoted by The Tennis Gazzette.
"I think there will be tongues hanging out at the US Open. I think they will be okay at the Olympics but how much energy do you have?" she added.
While many quality players have fared well so far at the US Open, there have been some high-profile premature exits also. Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are among the competitors who have already been knocked out in the first few rounds. The Serb lost to Alexei Popyrin in the third round while the Spaniard was beaten by Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round.
The likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hubert Hurkacz, Danielle Collins and Jelena Ostapenko have also been eliminated in the first two rounds.
A fan shared an excerpt of Martina Navratilova's prediction, calling it "spot on". The 67-year-old responded to this by saying:
"It wasn't that difficult..."
Martina Navratilova reacted to US Open's scheduling decision after Aryna Sabalenka's late-night finish
Aryna Sabalenka's third-round match against Ekaterina Alexandrova on August 30 started after midnight and had a late-night finish. The Belarusian said that she returned from her match at 3 am.
One fan called for the USTA to be fined for its scheduling. Journalist Jon Wertheim agreed to it by stating that while the tennis was good, the same could not be said about the order of play during the day.
"Consider this retweet “writing”….tennis was great yesterday; scheduling not so much," he said.
Navratilova agreed to Wertheim's take on the matter by reposting his statement.
As a player, Navratilova enjoyed a lot of success at the US Open, winning the singles title four times while clinching 12 doubles titles (nine women's doubles, three mixed doubles).