Alcaraz demands changes to late-night scheduling at Grand Slams

Carlos Alcaraz has renewed calls for changes to Grand Slam scheduling after his US Open quarter-final against Ben Shelton became the tournament’s latest-ever finish, ending at 3:33am in New York.

The Spaniard believes such late finishes leave players with inadequate recovery time and prevent fans from fully watching some of the biggest matches.

Wimbledon currently has an 11pm cut-off, while the US Open, French Open and Australian Open have no fixed time to stop play.

"For an athlete finishing at 3.30 in the morning, it means we had to leave the courts at 4.30, then back to the hotel," Alcaraz said. "You don't go to bed until 6.30 or 7 in the morning. To recover for the next match, the person you play has an advantage."

The Spaniard said even finishing at midnight was already too late.

How do late matches affect tennis fans?

Alcaraz said the late finish against Shelton meant many fans could not watch the entire match because they had to sleep or work the following morning.

He argued that an earlier start would have allowed more people to watch the contest and kept the stadium full until the end.

"If that match had started at 7 or 8pm, at the maximum finishing at 11, the stadium would have been packed," Alcaraz said.

One possible solution is reducing Grand Slam matches from best-of-five sets to best-of-three, as used on the ATP and WTA Tours outside the majors.

What does Andre Agassi think about shortening Grand Slam matches?

Novak Djokovic has also suggested reducing sets from six games to four to shorten matches.

However, eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi believes the five-set format should remain because it makes winning a major more demanding.

"I absolutely believe we should have it (five sets)," Agassi said. "I believe it's possible to get lucky and win two out of three. I don't think you can get lucky and win three out of five."

Agassi acknowledged that matches should not finish so late but said shortening them could diminish what makes Grand Slam victories different from success at other tournaments.

"You don't want it going that late. It's unfortunate. I have been in that position plenty of times," he said.

"But the last thing you want to have is an asterisk next to the history of our sport."