"It's a bit of a shame, it's not ideal and I don't think it looks professional" - Andy Murray calls for change in tennis rules around late night matches
Andy Murray has called for a clampdown on late finishes to tennis matches after Great Britain's intense group stage defeat to USA in the Davis Cup.
Rajeev Ram and Jack Sock beat Murray and Joe Salisbury 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 in a hard-fought two-hour 49-minute contest on Wednesday at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow to give the USA a 2-1 victory in their Davis Cup contest.
The contest hung in the balance before the doubles clash, which was a grueling late-night contest that ended at 12:58 am local time in a half-empty stadium.
Andy Murray and Joe Salisbury are beaten by Rajeev Ram and Jack Sock 5-7 6-4 7-5 at the Davis Cup in Glasgow; USA beat Great Britain 2-1 in their first group stage match. https://t.co/NIQNfQlkg3
In his post-match press conference, former World No. 1 Murray made clear his disappointment at the increasing regularity of late finishes to matches in the sport.
"It would be better if they were earlier I think for everyone involved. I don't think it's ideal for you guys. I don't think it's ideal for the fans. That match that we played there, there's probably half of the people in there at the end of the match that were there at the beginning. It's a bit of a shame because, well, they missed a great match. It's not probably because they didn't want to stay. If you got children here, you can't stay with them. You got to get a bus or train home. Can't do it," Andy Murray said.
He stated that while it's also hard on ball kids and others involved, it's even tougher on players who might have to take to the court the following day despite not getting to bed until the early hours of the morning.
"For the ballkids and things like that, it's inappropriate. Yeah, the players are still able to go out and compete. I mean, we're still playing really well. But, yeah, it's not ideal for the U.S. team to come back and play tomorrow. They're probably not going to be tucked up in their beds until, I don't know what the time is, probably 3:30, 4:00 in the morning by the time they've done their recovery and managed to sort of calm down after a tie like that," he said.
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The 35-year-old hopes that officials will take a look at the issue and find a solution as it's becoming increasingly regular for matches to be played well past midnight. Last week, the US Open recorded its latest ever finish when the quarterfinal clash between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner ended at 2:50 am local time.
"Yeah, it's not ideal. It's not just here, obviously. We've seen it obviously at the US Open even just last week. It's something that tennis needs to sort of have a bit of a think about. I don't think it looks that professional," Andy Murray stated.
"It is understandable obviously with what's happening this week" - Andy Murray on the muted atmosphere in Glasgow
The matches in Glasgow have been played through a subdued atmosphere as the organizers, players, and fans paid their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II. While disappointed to not have the usual pumped-up arena backing them in the matches, Andy Murray said that everyone understood the reasons behind it and was respectful of it.
"Yeah, it [the atmosphere] was different. It is understandable obviously with what's happening this week. But it was, yeah, like at the change of ends and stuff, a little bit quieter or going onto the court or. One of the things about the ties in Glasgow, when the Loch Lomond song was played during the warmups and stuff, I remembered those moments, you get goose bumps when all the crowd is singing it, as well. It's really special. I love that," Andy Murray said.
"I thought the atmosphere was still very good during the match and everything. The crowd did a really good job. But, yeah, little things like that can just help a little bit when the days are so long, as well. It's not easy for a crowd to maintain an amazing atmosphere for 10 hours, you know? Not easy," he added.