Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka has confirmed rumours that Australian Open officials sought to move her quarter-final off Rod Laver Arena to solve a scheduling farce on Tuesday night.
Sabalenka and French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova got underway at 9.10pm — more than two hours after their scheduled start time — following a lengthy day session that inexplicably only began at 1pm.
But the top contenders would have started much earlier on Margaret Court Arena if organisers had their way.
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Rumours swirled midway through Novak Djokovic’s four-set win over Taylor Fritz that Sabalenka and Krejcikova had been asked to move to the second roofed stadium.
That switch would have allowed Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev to begin their quarter-final on Rod Laver Arena as soon as possible and potentially wrap up before midnight.
Such speculation floored tennis fans for several reasons, not least because two women’s grand slam champions would be bumped off centre court.
As it was, however, Sabalenka and Brejcikova put their feet down and rejected the idea unless it was absolutely necessary.
Sabalenka said they “agreed for the possibility to be moved” if Djokovic had been pushed harder in the third and fourth sets by Fritz and into a fifth.
Sabalenka (right) thumped Krejcikova in just over an hour after they finally appeared on Rod Laver Arena. Credit: Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/AP“They asked our opinions, what do we think, and if we want to be moved right now,” Sabalenka said.
“We just told them that, well, let’s see how this match goes and if it’s going to be really long then maybe it’s a good idea to be moved so they’re not going to finish like Medvedev the other night (at 3.45am).
“Novak won that set 6-2 and it was still quite early and we decided to wait for this match (to be played on Rod Laver Arena).”
The players’ preference saved Australian Open officials from a firestorm of criticism far beyond what they have already received for their scheduling woes.
Sabalenka, though, conceded she “probably” would have accepted the move if Djokovic-Fritz had gone the distance.
“But I’m glad it wasn’t that long a match and we were able to play on Rod Laver Arena,” she added.
“For the quarter-finals it’s important to be playing on such a big stadium.”
Sabalenka played her part in easing tensions further by destroying Krejcikova 6-2 6-3 in just 71 minutes.
Sinner went on to roll Rublev in straight sets 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 across two hours and 41 minutes, wrapping up his match at 1.20am.
Organisers learned from Tuesday’s harsh lesson when they unveiled a 12pm start time for Wednesday’s Rod Laver Arena schedule, beginning with a women’s quarter-final between Linda Noskova and qualifier Dayana Yastremska.
The scheduling chaos made a mockery of tournament director Craig Tiley’s explanation for starting the Australian Open on a Sunday for the first time.
“We’ve listened to feedback from the players and fans and are excited to deliver a solution to minimise late finishes while continuing to provide a fair and equitable schedule on the stadium courts,” Tiley proclaimed in October.
In reality the extra day stretched the first round and had little effect on the second week.