By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Paris Olympians in New York might need a little extra effort to bring their A-game to the U.S. Open, after a tight turnaround and quick switch from the clay of Roland Garros to the hardcourts of Flushing Meadows.
The U.S. Open this year could be the ultimate test of endurance, as players who competed at the Games had to squeeze in their preparation for the year’s final major into a slim few weeks between Paris and New York.
“I don’t think I have too much problem transitioning (from) clay to hard. I just think maybe the time is not enough,” said Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.
The Chinese player said she was forced to miss practice after arriving sick in Cincinnati, where she exited in the last 16.
“I was, like, maybe four days without practising and two days with fever,” she told reporters. “If you don’t practice, the performance can’t be well. I mean, if you really put hours on court, I think the transition will be fine.”
American world number six Jessica Pegula collected a title in Toronto after competing in the Olympics but said it took a tremendous fight to hoist the trophy.
“I wasn’t feeling that great going into Toronto. It was a tough transition,” said Pegula, who also reached the Cincinnati final.
“It’s a little tricky this year people coming from Paris. People are just a little bit maybe, I don’t know, not as prepared, just with the surface change as well.”
Defending U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff – who played Olympic doubles with Pegula – exited in the third round of the Paris singles competition and struggled after returning from the Games, suffering early exits from Toronto and Cincinnati.
“I wanted to go into Cincinnati and win but I had more realistic things in my head just coming from Olympics and switching surfaces so fast,” she told reporters.
“Here I’m having great practices, which doesn’t mean I’m going to go out on the match and play great, but it does give you more confidence.”
Those who opted to skip the Games said they made the right call — excruciating as it might have been.
American Frances Tiafoe decided to focus on the North American hardcourt swing and that plan appeared to pay off as he reached the semi-final in Washington and final in Cincinnati.
But he felt conflicted over his decision as he watched the opening ceremony on the River Seine, where Gauff was the female flag bearer for the United States.
“The boat day killed me,” he told reporters.
“At that time I didn’t know I was going to make the final in Cincinnati. I’ll take that every day, and getting my career back to where I need to be.”
His compatriot Ben Shelton also opted to skip the Games.
“It was a tough decision, but the way that our schedule is, I think it’s a good decision,” he said. “If I was to go back again to Europe, another surface change… it just would have been too much.”
While world number two Aryna Sabalenka opted not to play in the Olympics, citing health and scheduling concerns, she did not feel that those who had little or no hardcourt tune-up events were at a disadvantage.
“At the end of the day it’s all about how hard are you ready to fight for it,” she said.
The U.S. Open begins on Monday.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, Frank Pingue in Toronto and Rory Carroll in Los Angeles)
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