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 U.S. Open this year, not every current player is exactly 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 Mou

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