"No need to alter the schedule"- Australian Open tournament director stays firm on night matches despite Andy Murray's 4 am finish
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley mentioned that there was no need to change the schedule after Andy Murray's five-set epic against Thanasi Kokkinakis finished at 4 am.
There have been a lot of questions from fans and players alike about scheduling two-night matches at the Grand Slams. There is a high possibility of late finishes if the second match goes all the way, which hinders the recovery of the players.
In an interview with Channel 9, Tiley explained the reasoning behind putting on two matches between 7 pm and 12 pm.
"You would expect from 7 pm to 12 pm (the evening session) in that five-hour window, you would get two matches. We also have to protect the matches. If you just put one match at night and there's an injury, you don't have anything for fans or broadcasters," said Tiley.
The Australian Open tournament director also claimed that there was no need to make changes to the schedule and that the tournament always looks at options for these scenarios in their debriefs.
"At this point, there is no need to alter the schedule. We always look at it when we do the debrief like we do every year, we've had long matches before, and at this point, we've got to fit the matches into the 14 days so you don't have many options," he added.
"I don't know who it's beneficial for" - Andy Murray on the scheduling of night matches
Andy Murray mentioned that he was not sure how finishing a match at 4 am would be beneficial for anyone.
In his post-match press conference, he revealed that late finishes were not good for either players, fans, or officials.
"Yeah, because 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 an epic Murray-Kokkinakis match, it ends in a bit of a farce," he said.
He stated that they need to have talks about resolving this issue of scheduling in the future.
"It's not beneficial for them. It's not beneficial for the umpires, or the officials. I don't think it's amazing for the fans. It's not good for the players. 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," Murray stated.