MELBOURNE, Australia — “I’ve never done this before,” Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova said as she climbed on a stationary bike in front of a crowd that didn’t feel that much smaller than the one that had watched her 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3 upset of fifth-seeded Sloane Stephens at the Australian Open. Pavlyuchenkova asked if she could field questions from reporters while she pedaled so she could kill two tasks with one bike ride. She was so tired, she had struggled to construct her points on the court, and now she was having trouble organizing her thoughts in front of reporters. That’s what a starting time of nearly half-past 11 will do to a player. “It’s honestly terrible,” Pavlyuchenkova said, adding, “It’s not ideal time to play tennis.”

Source: New York Times January 21, 2019 14:35 UTC