US Open LIVE: Brit loses in 58 minutes as Martina Navratilova wants ‘crazy’ rule scrapped
The US Open was once again blighted by the weather, with the New York rain forcing delays to some matches in the Big Apple. It’s meant the final Grand Slam of the year has had somewhat of a stop-start feel to it so far, but that hasn’t stopped plenty of storylines from developing.
Not least a call from Martina Navratilova aimed towards the organisers, where she’s asked for more consideration to welfare when players are asked to finish matches in the early hours of the morning. Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin didn’t start their clash until gone midnight, with the match eventually finishing just before 2am.
Meanwhile, it was a chastening day for one Brit, whose US Open campaign came to an end after just 58 minutes. Read all about it and more in our US Open blog…
Katie Boulter crashes out of US Open in under an hour
Katie Boulter had a US Open second-round match to forget.
She crashed out of the competition at the hands of Karolina Muchova.
It didn’t take long, with Boulter beaten in under an hour.
To rub salt in the wound, she only won one match after the two-set encounter.
Speaking post-match, Boulter remarked: “She was better than me today for sure.
“I think I’m probably struggling to be kind to myself, but I’m going to be right now. I struggled with the conditions.
“I struggled with the roof, I struggled with the noise. I kind of let these little things distract me a little bit. But ultimately, at the end of the day, it was a bad day at the office.”
Martina Navratilova calls for US Open rule change
Martina Navratilova wasn’t impressed with Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin’s match starting after midnight.
The tennis legend urged organisers to do more to protect player welfare.
She remarked: “It was the latest start for a women’s match ever. After midnight, and it could have been later. Tennis is the only sport that does this. I think it’s crazy…
“I think they need to fix the night session. It’s too late. I think they should play men’s singles and then maybe a doubles match.
“If you do women’s singles you can still have another doubles match, or another women’s singles. You’ll see get four sets of play minimum.
“Even if you put the women’s match on first and it’s three sets, the guys start by 10pm. If a men’s match goes five sets, you start at midnight.
“You’re never on the court at midnight and you never start a match at midnight, so it’s counterproductive for everybody, spectators and the players.”
