- The match between Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis ended at 4.05 am on Friday.
- The match was the longest of Murray’s career, lasting five hours and 45 minutes.
- Former world number one thanked the crowd for staying up so late to watch him play.
- Murray blamed the slow courts for making it difficult to hit winners.
After completing a spectacular Australian Open triumph over Thanasi Kokkinakis at 4.05 am on Friday, Andy Murray suggested tennis must consider avoiding late-night finishes.
The former world number one overcame a two-set deficit and a 2-5 deficit to win with an amazing score of 4-6 6-7(4) 7-6(5) 6-3 7-5 and go to the third round.
The 35-year-old played the longest match of his career, lasting five hours and 45 minutes, and while he thanked the Margaret Court Arena crowd for staying up so late, he thought playing matches in the early morning hours was absurd.
The Australian Open match between Leyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis, which ended at 4.34 in the morning in 2008, had a more recent finish.
But Murray insisted that the schedule needs to be examined.
“Finishing at 4 am 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.
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“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.”
Despite playing with a mostly metal hip and being 10 years older than his opponent, Murray miraculously seemed the fresher at the end. He blamed the slow circumstances.
“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.”
multiple runners-up In another five-set marathon, Murray eliminated the highly anticipated Italian Matteo Berrettini in the first round. He has now played for almost 11 hours.
On Saturday, when he will try to earn an early slot and possibly avoid another marathon, he will compete against Spanishman Roberto Bautista Agut, the opponent he lost to in 2019 when it appeared that his career was gone.
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