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Defending champions Naomi Osaka
and Novak Djokovic both failed to make the quarter-finals after
suffering shock defeats at Flushing Meadows.
Yet while it was the worst showing by the top seeds at the
tournament in the professional era, Laver -- who completed his
second calendar-year Grand Slam 50 years ago -- said it showed
the depth of talent currently in the sport.
"That's just telling the world that there's a lot of great
players coming up. I think that the biggest news is that the
competition now is so much better than yesteryear," Laver told
Reuters.
"You're not going to just get to the final easily, you fight
every match now."
Djokovic retired in the third set of his match against Stan
Wawrinka on Sunday due to a persistent shoulder injury.
Osaka, who beat American teen Coco Gauff in an emotional
third-round match, fell to Switzerland's Belinda Bencic 7-5 6-4
in their fourth-round encounter on Monday.
"There's a lot more talent out there at the moment," said Laver.
The 81-year-old, who is the only player ever to win all four
major tennis championships in a calendar year twice, also echoed
calls made by Roger Federer last week to distribute prize money
more evenly.
The 20 times Grand Slam singles champion, who was recently
elected to the ATP Player Council, said he wanted to get
lower-ranked players on the tour a larger share of the prize
pot.
"I think that is probably the best thing that could happen,"
said Laver. "There should be enough to go around."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Toby Davis)
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