NEW YORK \u2013 Alexander Zverev wasn\u2019t in the mood for much conversation.<\/p>\n
With empty seats everywhere after he finished his U.S. Open first-round match<\/a> in the early morning hours, he took two questions from reporters on the court and quickly wrapped it up.<\/p>\n \u201cI think everybody\u2019s tired,” he said. \u201cEverybody wants to go to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n The city that never sleeps is going a little overboard this year.<\/p>\n Players have long loved the electricity of night matches at the U.S. Open<\/a>, where tennis under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium is a hallmark of the American Grand Slam tournament, with fans staying late and bringing plenty of energy. But with the tournament this year already setting a record with three post-2 a.m. finishes over the first six days, plus two more going past 1 a.m., concerns are bubbling up about how much after midnight is too much on such a big stage.<\/p>\n \u201cI know they\u2019re dealing with a lot of different aspects as far as broadcast and TV and making sure certain matches get done and are starting at a certain time for those reasons,\u201d third-ranked women’s player Jessica Pegula said. \u201dBut you have to wonder if it\u2019s really the right thing for players to be finishing at 2 a.m., especially when it\u2019s not \u2014 like, I\u2019m not watching on TV. I\u2019m sleeping. Some people stay, but there is a lot of people that need to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n Wimbledon instituted an 11 p.m. curfew<\/a>. The French Open schedules just one match a night. The U.S. Open is famous for going late, though this time maybe to an extreme.<\/p>\n On opening night, Venus Williams was subjected<\/a> to the latest start in U.S. Open history at 12:13 a.m., after it took 4 hours, 36 minutes for Novak Djokovic to get knocked out<\/a> in the first round.<\/p>\n Much of the crowd stuck around to see what could wind up being the 46-year-old’s final Grand Slam singles match, a loss to Sofia Kenin, but the timing itself was a challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not ideal,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI would have preferred something else, definitely. It wasn\u2019t great for either of us, so I think we both tried our best. I just don\u2019t know any other sport where you have to start that late. I definitely think there\u2019s room for improvement there.”<\/p>\n Zverev’s first two matches ended at 1:55 and 2:15 a.m., making him the first top-seeded man to play back-to-back five-set matches to start a major in the Open era, which dates to 1968. Ben Shelton’s second-rounder<\/a> that started Friday night went until 2:07 a.m. Saturday thanks to the Williams sisters’ doubles match<\/a> lasting more than three hours.<\/p>\n Four of the latest 17 finishes in tournament history have occurred this year. The record is still 2:50 a.m. from when Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner<\/a> in the quarterfinals in 2022 on the way to his first U.S. Open title.<\/p>\n “Not easy,” Shelton said after defeating Denis Shapovalov in 3 hours, 22 minutes. \u201cMy first time experiencing playing this late.\u201d<\/p>\n Shelton figured the earliest he’d get to sleep was 5 a.m.<\/p>\n Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, who two years ago played what is now the fourth-latest women’s match, is not a fan of playing after midnight and the potentially lingering effects.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you finish late, the next day shifts a lot,\u201d Sabalenka said. \u201cLike, you still need to get your hours of sleep, so you start later. You just can really mess up your schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n