Australian Open: Andy Murray, who battled past 4 a.m. at the Australian Open to defeat Thanasi Kokkinakis in one of the most remarkable performances of his career, demanded that tennis put an end to the “farce” of all-night matches.
After starting at Margaret Court Arena after 10 p.m. the day before, the 35-year-old struggled for nearly five hours to defeat Matteo Berrettini on Tuesday, his best performance since 2017. He then forced a deciding set and beat Kokkinakis at 4.05 a.m. Melbourne time, winning 4-6 6-7 (4) 7-6 (5) 6-3 7-5.
The British great questioned how such circumstances led to arise because of the match, which lasted five hours and 45 minutes. It was the longest of Murray’s whole career, the second-longest in the history of the tournament, and the third-latest finish to a tennis match.
Murray added, “I don’t know who it’s good for. “Instead of being like, “awesome Murray-Kokkinakis match,” that is what the discussion is when we get here after the match. It ends up being a bit of a farce.
“Amazingly, many stayed until the very end. I genuinely appreciate everyone who did that and helped to make the event enjoyable for all of us. Some folks undoubtedly have to work the next day in addition to everything else.
“But as a parent, I would be upset if my child had been a ball kid for a tournament and was returning home at five in the morning. The players are not helped by it, nor are the umpires or other officials, nor do I think the fans are, and neither are the officials or the players.
“We frequently discuss it, and it has been brought up for years. However, these things will occur when night matches begin late and under certain circumstances.”
The final remark was in reference to the balls being used for the event this year, which have received numerous complaints from the players for being too slow. Murray was also dissatisfied with not being given an additional bathroom break.
Murray’s older brother Jamie was one of the players who expressed their worries on social media about the process that has been put in place to allow for alternate arrangements to be made in relation to late matches.
The 36-year-old former champion of the doubles competition at the Australian Open wrote on Twitter that it was time for tennis to go to only one match during the night sessions of major slams. The best result for ALL singles players is this.
“Players cannot continue to compete till the early hours of the morning. For all parties involved—players, fans, event personnel, etc.—it was rubbish.”
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