Exhausted Murray hits out after finish at 3am
ANDY Murray hit out at organisers of the Citi Open after being made to play until gone 3am in order to see off Marius Copil and reach the quarter-finals.
Murray was reduced to tears at the end of his three-set victory as exhaustion got the better of him, given the match started after midnight and finished at 3.01am on Friday morning.
With Murray due to take on Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals overnight, his preparation has been severely hampered by the late match, and he hit out at the schedule of the Citi Open before disappearing to gain some much-needed sleep.
He also later announced he will miss next week’s Rogers Cup in Toronto as he continues to manage his return from hip surgery.
“Finishing matches at 3 in the morning is not good,” Murray said after his 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-4). “It’s not good for the players. It’s not good for anyone, I don’t think, involved in the event. It’s not good for fans, TV. Nobody.”
Murray is returning from 11 months out after undergoing surgery in January and, after being dragged through three three-set matches in a row he admitted that he could “potentially” withdraw from Friday’s quarter-final with 19-year-old Australian prospect De Minaur.
“I’m giving my view right now as someone who’s just come back from a very, very long injury layoff,” the former British No.1 added.
“I don’t think I should be put in a position like that, when you’re expected to come out and perform the next day. I don’t think it’s reasonable.
“And I’m disappointed with that, because I know that the weather’s tricky and I know it is for the scheduling, but it’s a very difficult position to be in.”
Thursday’s action was delayed by rain in Washington and, in an effort to catch up on the schedule, organisers decided to continue play under floodlights into the early hours of the morning.
That meant Murray did not take to the court until midnight, and the early-morning conclusion has left the World No.832 feeling the effects of an erratic sleeping pattern.
Asked about his condition, Murray said: “It doesn’t feel great just now.
“I don’t know how you are expected to recover from that. By the time you’re done with all your recovery and stuff, it’s going to be 5.30, six o’clock in the morning. I’d obviously try and sleep as late as I can, but with the way your body clock is and stuff, you know, you might get a few hours’ sleep.
“It’s not good. And it’s basically like playing two matches in a day.”
Murray had to bounce back after losing the first set, in which he surged out to a 5-0 lead in the tie-break before dropping seven consecutive points. That drew an angry response from Murray as he shouted at both himself and his coaching box, but it triggered a comeback from the three-time Grand Slam winner as he won consecutive sets to clinch his place in the last-eight.
However, the effort took its toll on him as he sobbed into his towel. “Just the emotions coming out at the end of an extremely long day,” Murray added.