NEW YORK, Aug 31 \u2014 Unseasonably mild conditions have done nothing to cool tempers inside the US Open this year, as frustrations boil over and nerves fray on courts across Flushing Meadows.<\/p>\n
Spats at the net and tears on the bench have appeared more frequent in New York this year, where players reach the home stretch of a busy season grasping at their last chance to claim a major title in 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cLots of drama,\u201d said American fourth seed Jessica Pegula. \u201cEveryone is tense. It\u2019s the last slam of the season. Your last chance to go deep at a slam for a while.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people maybe just get stressed out, and you\u2019re out there competing and fighting and trying to win. I think it just gets emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former champion Daniil Medvedev earned a US$42,500 (RM180,000) fine for his antics during a loss to Benjamin Bonzi at the start of the week, where he launched a tirade against the umpire and whipped up jeering fans.<\/p>\n
Latvia\u2019s Jelena Ostapenko levelled a series of insults at Taylor Townsend during a post-match encounter after the American prevailed in their round two meeting on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me I had no class, I have no education,\u201d said Townsend.<\/p>\n
Ostapenko later apologised, stating that English is not her native language and that her anger stemmed from Townsend\u2019s refusal to apologise for benefiting from a net cord.<\/p>\n
A day later, Stefanos Tsitsipas used the customary post-match handshake as an opportunity to lambaste his second-round opponent Daniel Altmaier for deploying an underarm serve.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s just the part of the season where everyone is, like, tired and irritated or something,\u201d said twice former champion Naomi Osaka.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, I think New York brings out my best behaviour, so I don\u2019t know what everyone else is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
For some players, trying to cope with the stress and exhaustion can bring emotions to the surface.<\/p>\n
Coco Gauff, the 2023 champion, struggled to contain her nerves in a second-round encounter with Donna Vekic on Thursday, as she sat shaking and crying on her bench mid-match before winning 7-6(5) 6-2.<\/p>\n
Asked to explain the amount of drama at the tournament this year, Gauff said that the Grand Slam brought a bigger spotlight to increasingly common issues in the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith some of the drama, I feel like it happens frequently on tour but because it\u2019s here it gets more social media clicks,\u201d said Gauff, who enjoyed a far more routine third-round win over Magdalena Frech yesterday.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us players, it\u2019s just another week on tour.\u201d \u2014 Reuters<\/p>\n
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