"If my child was a ball kid, I'm snapping" - Andy Murray emphasizes need for better scheduling in tennis after 4 am-finish to Australian Open marathon
Andy Murray won his second consecutive five-set match at the Australian Open in the early hours of Friday morning, rebounding from two sets to love for the 11th time in his career.
The former World No. 1 defeated home favorite Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-5 in the longest match of his career which finished at 4:05 a.m., only two hours from daylight in Melbourne. Murray survived 102 winners from the Australian, including 37 aces.
However, in his post-match press conference, the Brit seemed unhappy with the tournament's schedule. Andy Murray said that he doesn't understand how a match ending this late is beneficial and thanked the audience for remaining till the end and creating a good atmosphere.
"Finishing at 4am isn't idea. I don't know who it's beneficial for. A match like that, yeah, we come here after the match, and that's what discussion is. Rather than it being like epic Murray-Kokkinakis match, it ends in a bit of a farce," Andy Murray said.
"Amazingly, people stayed until the end. I really appreciate people doing that, creating an atmosphere for us at the end. I really appreciate that. Some people need to work the following day and everything," he added.
Murray added that if his child was a ball kid for the tournament, he would "snap" as a parent and that the issue has been under discussion for years.
"If my child was a ball kid for a tournament, they're coming home at 5 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 said.
"So, yeah, we talk about it all the time. It's been spoken about for years. When you start the night matches late and have conditions like that, these things are going to happen," he added.
"Potentially, It's strange" - Andy Murray on slow conditions creating longer rallies
Andy Murray discussed the effects of slow conditions in the post-match press conference, saying it was "strange" and "not normal" to engage in long rallies.
"I mean, I don't know. Potentially. It's strange because the courts are fast. The courts are not slow. But the balls, I mean, when we started tonight, like, at the beginning of the match, it felt like there was no, I don't know, pressure in the ball, like flat almost. That was what I was complaining about quite a lot during the match, as well," Murray 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," he added.