US Open 2021 – Murray on the Tsitsipas “toilet break”: “I lost respect for him”

Andy Murray played at a level that hadn’t been seen for a long time to considerably threaten Stefanos Tsitsipas, against whom he got two balls from two sets to nothing and then led two sets to one before losing 2-6, 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 (in 4:49), this Monday, in the 1st round of the US Open.

A magnificent fight in which the Scotsman encouraged himself a lot but moaned a lot, too, especially after the interruptions too many and especially too long for his taste taken by his opponent

Already vilified on this subject by Alexander Zverev during their semi-final in Cincinnati, Tsitsipas indeed took a toilet break of ten minutes at the end of the 2nd set and another barely shorter at the end of the 4th. He also took a medical timeout (ankle) at the end of the 3rd set and interrupted play to change racquets when he was led 0-30 on one of his service plays in the 4th set.

For Andy Murray, it was too much. Too much. The former world No. 1, furious, has continued to curse the referee and the supervisor, before reserving a handshake of the most icy to his opponent, also heckled by the public.

Murray was even more verbose to the media, delivering an angry press conference: “The problem is not the break itself, it is the duration. I knew I had to expect this from him. But you can mentally prepare as much as you want, when you have to stop for seven or eight minutes in the middle of such a brutal game, it affects you physically., declared the former tournament winner (2012). The body cools, adrenaline escapes. It’s disappointing because I believe that all of this had an influence on the outcome of the game. I’m not saying I would have won, far from it. But it played. He’s a great player, nothing to say. But I lost respect for him.”

About these famous “toilet breaks” and their lack of precise regulations (two allowed for a match in five sets “within a reasonable time”), the Briton, who is part of the Players Council, explained that discussions were in progress to legislate them more clearly: “One suggestion is that if you take a break, or a medical time-out, before an opponent’s service play, you forfeit that play. Another idea would be to get two five-minute breaks per game. There are several proposals, you have to see. But something must be done. We talk about it all the time, and nothing is done.'”

Tsitsipas: “I didn’t break any rule”

Murray, who has promised he will not speak in disappointment, explained that his “rant” was primarily intended to serve the interests of his sport: “All of this is not good for TV, for the fans and even for the gamers. Look, instead of talking about the fantastic player that he is, and how happy it was for me to manage to put on such a performance after everything that has happened to me, we are doing the whole press conference on interruptions. It makes no sense. Honestly, I would have said the same if I had won. It all makes no sense and he (Tsitsipas) knows it.”

The Greek, instead, sought to defuse the bomb, even if he did not seem delighted with Murray’s moods: “If he has something to tell me, it’s better to talk about it between us, lambasted the world No. 3. I haven’t broken any rules. As far as I know, we are entitled to two bathroom breaks in a five-set match. I clearly took my change of clothes when I left the court, and the hiatus lasted while I got changed and returned. As long as I’m within the rules, I’m fine. But I ain’t got nothing against him, really. “The converse was not true Monday night …