US Open 2022: Alcaraz and the next night shift - when will the load be too high?
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner set a new record for the end of a match at the US Open 2022. The Spaniard now needs to regenerate as soon as possible for his semi-final against Frances Tiafoe.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Sep 09, 2022, 07:38 am
You wish we play. That means: In his press conference after the match against Andrey Rublev, Frances Tiafoe wished that Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz would play against each other for as long as possible. And Sinner and Alcaraz delivered, smashing the previous record in terms of match ends. It was 2:26 a.m., and the clocks in Flushing Meadows were reset during the night from Wednesday to Thursday.
And the game planning shouldn't be blamed too much: As introduced a few years ago, the Night Session started punctually at 7 p.m. local time. You saw it differently when there were still three games scheduled for the day at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula didn't go too far either, the last women's quarter-final was over after two sets.
But then Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner knock out a classic that takes well over five hours. And who in the end still produced incredibly great tennis. Anyone who went home before the end of this game will ask themselves: How did I let something like this slip away? And those who stayed at Arthur Ashe Stadium to the end - and there were quite a few - will ask themselves: How am I supposed to drag myself to work today?
Tiafoe defeated Alcaraz in Barcelona
The fact that the largest tennis stadium in the world was only occupied by a maximum of one third in the final phase: understandable. It's also been a long night for TV viewers, at least for those who live on the east coast of the United States.
At 2:50 a.m. local time, Alcaraz served through Sinner’s body, the South Tyrolean was no longer able to parry. Was that good for tennis - or unfair to the two parties involved? The good news: Carlos Alcaraz is only 19 years old. If anyone manages to be in good shape again on Friday, it will be him. However, one should also keep in mind that Alcaraz had to go the full distance in his round of 16 against Marin Cilic.
Incidentally, Frances Tiafoe does not only go into the encounter with Alcaraz with the advantage of significantly longer regeneration times. But also with the knowledge that he won the only game against Juan Carlos Ferrero's protégé so far: 2019 in Barcelona, and on clay.
Here the individual tableau in New York
nycmap