Upsets, late nights put focus on player fatigue at US Open

NEW YORK : Shock upsets, marathon encounters and late nights are nothing new at the U.S. Open, but a handful of notable matches at the year's final Grand Slam have put the sport and its packed season schedule under greater scrutiny.

This year's U.S. Open has seen the last two men's champions exit in the early rounds on successive nights, the tournament's longest-ever match, the latest-ever start time for any match and latest-ever finish for a women's match.

Olympic gold medallist Novak Djokovic said he "felt out of gas" after his U.S. Open title defence ended after three late matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

World number three Carlos Alcaraz said physical and mental fatigue contributed to his second-round collapse after securing the Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles and a silver medal run in Paris left him low on energy.

The shock exits, long matches and late nights should serve as a warning that the scheduling of events needs a rethink, the Professional Tennis Players Association, a player advocate group that Djokovic co-founded, told Reuters.

"There is no question about how spent mentally and physically players are. The Olympics have added to that," said Romain Rosenberg, PTPA's deputy executive director.

"Players have come to us about exhaustion, mentally and physically. It's just too long of a season," he said, adding that several top-10 players, both men and women, have raised concerns with the PTPA.

The season for men and women consists of the four majors and a required minimum number of top-tier tournaments that they must play to earn points in the standings.

The WTA Tour expanded the number of required top-level non-major tournaments for women this year, but said in a statement that injuries have not increased from last