For some, more is by no means better

NEW YORK — Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova made clear they didn't love the idea of starting a Grand Slam tournament on a Sunday instead of a Monday when the French Open was the first to do it nearly 20 years ago and they were on the schedule for the new, earlier Day 1.

Now, that the trend has reached the US Open, and not every current player is a proponent of the switch, either — even if the crowds were gathering on-site Sunday morning before the start of competition.

"I hate the Sunday start," said Jordan Thompson, an Australian who's been ranked as high as No 26 in singles and No 3 in doubles.

"Tournaments don't start on Sunday; they finish on Sunday. Pretty sure no player would like (it), particularly me."

Alas, Thompson was scheduled to face Corentin Moutet on Sunday — but did manage to win in four sets — as things got going at Flushing Meadows, where there will now be 15 days of singles competition instead of 14, and there's little doubt that more money from all sorts of sources was part of the calculus behind the change.

"I'm not really a fan of it. I don't know why they had to make it even longer. Well, I know why they did it — they get to sell tickets for an extra day," said 2024 US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula, this year's No 4 seed, who beat Mayar Sherif 6-0, 6-4 on Sunday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium. "I'm not really for it. I don't think a lot of the players were for it, especially those who play the week before a Slam.

"It makes everything a little longer and a little harder. I don't think a lot of players want that."