Former champion Andy Murray says he has “lost respect” for world No.3 Stefanos Tsitsipas after his five set loss at the US Open.
The issues of tactical bathroom breaks and medical timeouts have once again come to the fore, after Tsitsipas appeared to use both to his advantage during the match.
Tsitsipas eventually prevailed, 2-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in just under five hours.
But it was a medical timeout for a foot problem after the third set, and an eight-minute bathroom break at the start of the fifth that really got under Murray’s skin.
“It’s not so much leaving the court, it’s the amount of time,” Murray said after the match, explaining that he’d told his team beforehand to expect such tactics from Tsitipas.
The 34-year-old pointed out Tsitsipas always took the breaks at times designed to cause maximum inconvenience to his opponents.
“It can’t be coincidence that it’s happening at those moments,” Murray said.
“I rate him a lot. I think he’s a brilliant player. I think he’s great for the game. But I have zero time for that stuff at all, and I lost respect for him.”
Murray said he wasn’t accusing Tsitsipas of cheating, but said his antics are openly discussed on tour.
“He knows. The other players know. The fact that I was talking to my team about it before the match, we knew it was coming,” he said.
The three-time grand slam champion urged the sport’s governing bodies to change the rules around breaks and timeouts, suggesting the whole situation is bad for the game.
“Just do something about it. Nothing ever gets done. Maybe I’m being unreasonable. Maybe I’m overreacting to something because I lost the match,” he said.
“But, right now sitting here I feel like it’s nonsense and they need to make a change because it’s not good for the sport.
“I’m sitting in here talking about bathroom breaks and medical timeouts and delays in matches. That’s rubbish. I don’t think that that’s right.
“I would have said the same thing if I’d won, I promise. It was nonsense, and he knows it.”
It’s the second time this month Tsitsipas has found himself under fire for the length of his bathroom breaks.
At the Western and Southern Open, the Greek player took his entire kit bag with him after losing the first set. During the eight minutes he was gone, his father, Apostolos, appeared to be texting on his phone, raising suspicions he was coaching his son.
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