MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Andy Murray said tennis must look at avoiding late-night finishes after competing a remarkable Australian Open victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis at 4.05am on Friday morning.
The former world number one battled back from two sets down and 2-5 to claim a remarkable 4-6 6-7(4) 7-6(5) 6-3 7-5 victory and move into the third round.
At five hours and 45 minutes it was the longest match of the 35-year-old’s career and while he applauded the crowd for staying so late on Margaret Court Arena, he said playing matches in the small hours was farcical.
It was not quite the latest finish at the Australian Open, that being the clash between Leyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis which ended at 4.34am in 2008.
But Murray said the scheduling must be looked at.
“Finishing at 4am isn’t ideal. Because I don’t know who it’s beneficial for. A match like that, and we come here after the match and we’re discussing the time rather than it being like epic Murray-Kokkinakis match, it ends in a bit of a farce,” the Briton said.
“Amazingly people stayed until the end. I really appreciate people doing that, creating an atmosphere for us at the end.
“Some people need to work the following day and everything. If my child was a ball kid for a tournament, they’re coming home at five in the morning, as a parent, I’m snapping at that.
“It’s not beneficial for them. It’s not beneficial for the umpires, the officials. I don’t think it’s amazing for the fans. It’s not good for the players.”
Murray, who incredibly looked the fresher at the end despite playing with a partly metal hip and being 10 years older than his opponent, said the slow conditions did not help.
“The courts are not slow. But the balls, when we started tonight, it felt like there was no pressure in the balls, like flat almost. That was what I was complaining about,” he said.
“It’s just difficult to hit winners once you’re in the rallies. You’ve seen it. I think there was a 70-shot rally yesterday, multiple 35-45 shot rallies, which is not normal. Yeah, probably need to look at that.”
Five-time runner-up Murray, who knocked out fancied Italian Matteo Berrettini in round one in another five-set marathon, has already spent nearly 11 hours on court.
He will face Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, the man he lost to in 2019 when his career seemed over, on Saturday when he will hope to get an early slot and perhaps avoid another marathon.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
