Jelena Ostapenko feels that Coco Gauff had the scheduling advantage in their U.S. Open quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday.
Gauff defeated Ostapenko 6-0, 6-2 to advance to the Open semifinals.
Ostapenko had beaten world No. 1 and defending tournament champion Iga Swiatek in the round of 16 around midnight Sunday night, before having to turn around and play Gauff at noon Tuesday.
“I feel very physically tired,” Ostapenko told reporters after losing to Gauff.
“I felt like I didn’t recover from that night. I got back to the hotel around 2 a.m. I tried to go to sleep at 3 a.m. but I had all this adrenaline and it was impossible to fall asleep.
“When you go to sleep at 5 or 6 a.m. you need a few days just to recover. I think it’s a little bit crazy.”
Compounding the matter, it was over 90 degrees and humid at Flushing Meadows during the Tuesday match.
Ostapenko had a lot of self-inflicted wounds in the match, committing 36 unforced errors.
She was asked what she would suggest from a scheduling perspective.
“If I play a late-night session, in one day I have to play [the next match] at the same time or later on because you don’t have much time to recover. Even with the day in between, you still have your practice and treatment.”
Gauff, on the other hand, defeated Caroline Wozniacki on Sunday afternoon.
“I think the schedule was better for her because she played much earlier the day I played a night session,” Ostapenko said.
Gauff will face the winner of Sorana Cirstea versus Karolína Muchová on Thursday in the semifinals.
