Murray calls Tsitsipas breaks ‘nonsense’
EW YORK—ANDY Murray is aware that Stefanos Tsitsipas has a growing reputation for pushing the boundaries when it comes to taking breaks during a match.
Murray expected that to be an issue during their first-round match at the US Open—and, when it was, that didn’t sit well. Not at all.
Murray figures there was enough for him to deal with in Monday’s high heat and humidity:
He’s 34. He’s got an artificial hip. He’s ranked 112th after a series of health issues. At one point, he tumbled to the ground, losing his balance in sweat-soaked shoes and leaving splotches on the blue court from his soggy clothing.
So as the contest stretched to almost five hours, Murray did not appreciate that Tsitsipas took a medical timeout after the third set and made a lengthy visit to the locker room after the fourth. Following an entertaining, back-and-forth 2-6, 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss to Tsitsipas, Murray complained about what he considered unfair gamesmanship by the French Open runner-up and announced: “I lost respect for him.”
“It’s nonsense. And he knows it, as well,” said Murray, who is nearly a decade—and a pair of hip operations—removed from a US Open championship.
Told of Murray’s displeasure, the just-turned-23 Tsitsipas said: “If there’s something that he has to tell me, we should speak, the two of us, to kind of understand what went wrong. I don’t think I broke any rules.”
The whole thing lent some intrigue to the proceedings as the year’s last Grand Slam tournament got underway with fans in the stands at full capacity—the combined attendance for the day and night sessions was 53,783—a year after all spectators were
banned because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“When we didn’t have a crowd,” reigning champion Naomi Osaka said after beating Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-1 at night, “I know it felt quite lonely for me.”
That was Osaka’s first Grand Slam match since she pulled out of the French Open in late May for a mental health break. She played rather well, compiling a 34-10 edge in total winners and saving all eight break points Bouzkova earned.