Gauff is calling for changes after Djokovic’s French Open third-round match finished very late.
Coco Gauff called out the tennis authorities following Novak Djokovic’s extremely late French Open finish as the 2023 US Open champion says stuff like that is “unhealthy” and probably “unfair.”
On Saturday, Djokovic started his French Open third-round meeting versus Lorenzo Musetti at around 10:30 PM. And since it ended up being a marathon that lasted four hours and 29 minutes, Djokovic’s match finished at 03:08 AM local time.
While Djokovic was able to complete a five-set win over Lorenzo Musetti and continue his title defense, some were furious toward the French Open organizers, arguing that it would be tough for Djokovic to physically recover after such a long match that finished so late.
However, those conversations aren’t anything new in the tennis circles as for quite some time some of the biggest names have been calling for the abolishing of late-night finishes in tennis.
Gauff after Djokovic’s late-night finish: Unhealthy…
“I definitely think finishing at 3 AM is –I feel like a lot of times people think you’re done, but really, 3 AM, then you have [media responsibilities] and then you have to shower, eat, and then a lot of times people do treatments. So that’s probably not going to bed until 5 o’clock at the earliest, maybe 6 o’clock, and even 7 o’clock,” Gauff explained.
“I definitely think it’s not healthy. It may be not fair for those who have to play late because it does ruin your schedule. I’ve been lucky I haven’t been put in a super-late finish yet. …
“It’s a complicated thing, but I definitely think for the health and safety of the players it would be in the sport’s best interest I think to try to avoid those matches finishing – or starting after a certain time. Obviously, you can’t control when they finish.”
On Monday, Djokovic is scheduled to return to the court for his French Open round-of-16 meeting versus Francisco Cerundolo.
Meanwhile, Gauff set up a French Open quarterfinal meeting versus Ons Jabeur after overcoming Elisabetta Cocciaretto.