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Coco Gauff extended her winning streak at the US Open on Tuesday, defeating Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals. The World No. 6 didn't drop a game in the first set and cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 victory to advance to her first-ever semifinal at Flushing Meadows.
With many of the top seeds in the women's draw already eliminated, including World No.1 Iga Swiatek, Gauff is now one of the favorites to win the tournament. The 19-year-old will face either Sorana Cirstea or this year's French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova in the next round.
In her post-match press conference, Ostapenko said she was dissatisfied with the tournament's scheduling. The Latvian played a quarter-final match under the sun at Arthur Ashe Stadium right after her fourth-round match which was played under the lights.
"I got back to the hotel around, like, 2:00 a.m. and even I tried to go to sleep at 3:00 in the morning but I had all this adrenaline and it was impossible to fall asleep," Ostapenko said.
The Latvian also said she felt Gauff had a more comfortable schedule coming into their clash.
"Then when you go to sleep at 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning, the whole day where you need a few days just to recover. I think it's a little bit crazy. I think it was better for her the schedule, because obviously she played much earlier the day I played night session," she added.
Tennis fans took to Twitter to react to the 26-year-old's statement, with one user saying that Jelena Ostapenko's complaint would go unanswered because she had no scheduled matches for the day, unlike her opponent, Coco Gauff.
"Lol okay whatever Jelena. You are great for the sport but this complaint is going to have zero takers. First of all today is Tuesday; you got back to the hotel at 2am on Monday morning and went to sleep at 6am Monday morning and had no scheduled matches for the day, unlike Coco," the user wrote.
Another fan requested that someone remind Ostapenko that Gauff also played doubles with her partner Jessica Pegula earlier that day.
"Someone remind her Coco played doubles also," they tweeted.
One fan expressed their frustration at players coming up with excuses after a loss.
"This is absurd when players come out after a loss and start blaming the schedule. Come on!!!!," they said.
Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:
"I think my concentration was not there comparing to the matches I played" - Jelena Ostapenko
Jelena Ostapenko said during her press conference that she squandered many chances in her match against Coco Gauff because she lacked concentration compared to the other matches she played at the 2023 US Open.
"Honestly, there were so many games where I had chances and I missed some, really, as I think, easy balls, and I think my concentration was not there comparing to the matches I played," Ostapenko said.
The World No. 21 acknowldged that Gauff was nervous during the match, which gave the Latvian opportunities to get back into the match.
"I think she was also very nervous today. I mean, still, the score is what it is. But there were so many games deuce, advantage, deuce, advantage, that I could really win," she said.
Jelena Ostapenko previously defeated Iga Swiatek in three sets during the Round of 16. That meant the Pole lost her World No. 1 ranking, with Aryna Sabalenka set to take over the top spot after the US Open ends.
