But that wouldn’t have been fair either since the women play their semi-finals on Thursday night without a day of rest. Some will complain that the women’s quarterfinal encounter between Iga Swiatek and American Jessica Pegula should have been the second match on Ashe. Then on Wednesday, while Tiafoe notched a surprisingly easy straight-set win over ninth seeded Andrey Rublev that ended around 5pm, Alcaraz had to wait until after 9pm to start his match with Sinner, a match that lasted five hours and 15 minutes (some may facetiously argue that, as a teenager, the Spaniard will enjoy going to bed and getting up late). His five-set, nearly four-hour victory over former champion Marin Cilic was a fantastic match to witness for night owls and those brave fans at bars who earn the scorn of other sports fans by requesting the TV be switched on to the tennis. ![]() On Monday evening, the 19-year-old Alcaraz played the second night match and it too ended in the early morning hours. And what makes it even more of an issue is that his semi-final opponent, American Frances Tiafoe, has concluded his fourth round and quarter-final contests before the dinner hour. ![]() And such is the case with Alcaraz in the last two rounds. Yet, while the nocturnal atmosphere undoubtedly ratchets up the energy and there’s a special quality to the matches under the lights in Gotham, this has nonetheless become a double-edged sword for those players who have to play consecutive matches late at night.
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