Tournament director of the Australian Open, Craig Tiley, has responded to criticism regarding match scheduling, particularly in the wake of Coco Gauff’s prolonged quarterfinal against Marta Kostyuk. Gauff’s three-hour battle resulted in a delayed start for Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz, extending play into the early hours.
In an interview with ABC, Tiley acknowledged the challenges in managing schedules, stating, “We can’t start before 7 pm because of the news in Australia, so you rule that out.” He addressed the unpredictability of match durations, emphasizing, “You’re not going to think Coco is going to play for three-and-a-half hours. So, we also try and put schedules on what we think our matches will go to.”
Responding to queries about implementing a curfew similar to Wimbledon’s 11 pm limit, Tiley highlighted the difficulties in controlling certain aspects. “As a sport, we need to consider – again – not having lets. Having lets added 15 hours to the tournament across all events,” he explained.
While Tiley acknowledged the need for tweaks in scheduling, he concluded by noting that despite efforts to streamline, there may still be instances of matches concluding in the early morning. “So, there will be tweaks next year, but you’re still going to get that one-off crazy situation where a match finishes at three in the morning,” he stated.
reminding myself that i’m still evolving. time to get back to work and come back stronger. thank you @australianopen for the memories this year and thank you everyone for their support💙💛🤍 pic.twitter.com/q7sThs7kDN
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) January 26, 2024
Coco Gauff in 2024
LWWWLWWLWW Now ranked no.3 (career-high), Coco played her last match on the 25th of January when she was overcome by world no.2 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(2) 6-4 in the semifinal of the Australian Open (draw).
This year Coco has managed to achieve a compiled 10-1 record. Gauff has won 1 title in Auckland.
Gauff is scheduled to play next in Doha (Qatar TotalEnergies Open). She will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 12th of February.
Coco Gauff |
| Embed from Getty Images |
