MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) 鈥 Andy Murray just wanted to go to the bathroom.
It was 3 a.m., he'd already been playing his second-round match against Thanasi Kokkinakis for more than 4 1/2 hours 鈥 they would carry on for another set across more than another hour 鈥 and Murray was hoping to be allowed to head to the locker room for a quick break.
Rules are rules, though, and Murray already had left the court twice, so chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore wouldn't budge, prompting this rebuke from the : "It鈥檚 a joke. And you know it, as well."
Ah, , something that occurs occasionally in tennis, more than in other professional sports. It all left the 35-year-old Murray angry and wondering aloud after 4:05 a.m. Friday 鈥 when he finally, mercifully, finished off the 4-6, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-3, 7-5 victory over Kokkinakis following 5 hours, 45 minutes of clashing skills and wills at Margaret Court Arena 鈥 why this sort of 鈥渇arce,鈥 as he termed it, needs to occur at all.
鈥淚f my child was a ball kid for a tournament, they鈥檙e coming home at 5 in the morning 鈥 as a parent, I鈥檓 snapping at that. It鈥檚 not beneficial for them. It鈥檚 not beneficial for the umpires, the officials. I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 amazing for the fans. It鈥檚 not good for the players,鈥 said Murray, a father of four. 鈥淪o, yeah, we talk about it all the time. It鈥檚 been spoken about for years. When you start the night matches late, and have conditions like that, these things are going to happen.鈥
Especially at events like the Australian Open and U.S. Open, which hold daily night sessions that usually include two matches on some courts. Which can lead to extreme situations such as Murray vs. Kokkinakis, which came 15 years to the day after the latest finish in Grand Slam history, a match between Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis at the 2008 Australian Open that concluded at 4:34 a.m.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no sport that does that. I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 very good. ... Who really wants to watch a five-, six-hour match? That鈥檚 long, even for TV,鈥 said the tournament's No. 3-seeded woman, Jessica Pegula, whose parents own NFL and NHL teams. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think any of the players think that should be happening at all.鈥
She and others pointed out it's hard to go to bed after a match like that, because of the adrenalin involved, which hurts efforts to recover mentally and physically.
The last women's match on Thursday's schedule, in which Marketa Vondrousova upset No. 2 seed Ons Jabeur 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena, finished at after 1 a.m. Friday.
鈥淚t's kind of crazy. For the body, also: I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 healthy to play at 1 a.m,鈥 Vondrousova said. 鈥淚 just need some sleep.鈥
Murray's brother, Grand Slam doubles champion Jamie, tweeted: 鈥淭ime for tennis to move to only one match at the night sessions. ... We can't continue to have players compete into the wee hours of the morning. Rubbish for everyone involved 鈥 players/fans/event staff. Etc."
Still, do not expect anything to change anytime soon.
鈥淎t this point, there is no need to alter the schedule,鈥 Craig Tiley, the tournament director and head of Tennis Australia, told local broadcasting partner Channel 9 on Friday.
Murray will be back on court Saturday, facing No. 24 Roberto Bautista Agut for a berth in the fourth round.
Murray, who also played a five-setter in the first round against Matteo Berrettini and has already put in more than 10 1/2 hours on court, was back at Melbourne Park before 1 p.m. on Friday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 no fun for Andy. I saw him today before my match," said Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 2021 French Open runner-up who won his third-round match Friday afternoon. 鈥淚 was thinking to myself, 鈥榃hat is he doing here? He should be in bed!鈥欌
Tsitsipas thinks folks such as Tiley are not all that disappointed by this sort of 鈥榬ound-the-clock competition.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a great story behind this match, and it鈥檚 going to be remembered,鈥 Tsitsipas said. 鈥淚 do remember very vividly, very well, the match that Baghdatis played with Hewitt. It鈥檚 somewhere back inside my mind somewhere. ... It is definitely a very magical moment 鈥 for sure, not for the one who loses, because it鈥檚 painful.鈥
At last year's U.S. Open, eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, two bright young stars, engaged in a five-set struggle over 5 hours, 15 minutes, until 2:50 a.m., setting the mark for the latest finish in that tournament's history.
Sinner was on the wrong end of that one. On Friday, his result was better and his schedule more straightforward: His 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 win against Marton Fucsovics began at 11 a.m.; his day was done by 2:45 p.m.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 care so much, no? I鈥檓 happy to be on court. Doesn鈥檛 matter what time,鈥 Sinner said. 鈥淔or sure, I prefer (beginning) at 11 than playing in the night, (but) it's all part of our sport now.鈥
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