Murray, Andy (1987- )

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      Stefanos Tsitsipas Is Being Criticized for Mid-Match Bathroom Breaks

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      Andy Murray says his Monday opponent employs stall tactics too often for too long. Reilly Opelka says Tsitsipas is probably just changing his socks.It wasn’t his opponent’s dazzling foot speed or the velocity of his serve that Andy Murray was still dwelling on a day after his match. The statistic that stuck with Murray, the 2012 U.S. Open champion, was how long his opponent, Stefanos Tsitsipas, took during his off-court breaks.“Fact of the day. It takes Stefanos Tsitipas twice as long to go the bathroom as it takes Jeff Bazos to fly into space. Interesting,” Murray posted to Twitter on Tuesday morning, misspelling both the name of his opponent and the Amazon billionaire, but adding emojis of a toilet and a rocket ship for clarity.On Monday, the third-seeded Tsitsipas had defeated Murray 2-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a match that turned early in the fifth set following an off-court break by Tsitsipas. Though two off-court breaks are allowed by the rules during best-of-five-sets matches, Murray was incensed when he saw Tsitsipas leaving the court after the fourth set, which Tsitsipas had won.“Why are they allowed to do this?” Murray asked chair umpire Nico Helwerth with exasperation. “Why?”Murray, 34, sat on his bench in Arthur Ashe Stadium, changed his shirt, draped an ice towel over his neck and hydrated, repeatedly glancing toward the court entrance. After a few minutes of sitting and bouncing his legs, Murray rose and wandered behind the baseline, bouncing a ball and hitting it gently against the video wall behind the court.“What’s your opinion on this?” Murray asked Helwerth. “You’re umpiring the match. Give me an opinion: you think it’s good?” Murray then asked Grand Slam supervisor Gerry Armstrong, “You think this is OK, what’s happening?”When Tsitsipas finally returned more than seven minutes after the last point had been played, he went to his bench, then walked to a cooler to get a bottle of water. He then sat down on his bench, and Murray shouted “Get up! What’s going on, get up!”When the fans began to boo, Murray pumped his arms to encourage them.Murray, still steamed, dropped his serve in the following game, and Tsitsipas held onto that break advantage the rest of the set. Murray said he had been prepared for Tsitsipas to take long breaks if the match wasn’t going his way, for which he believed Tsitsipas had a reputation.“It’s just disappointing because I feel it influenced the outcome of the match,” Murray said. “I’m not saying I necessarily win that match, for sure, but it had influence on what was happening after those breaks. 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.”Told of Murray’s comments, Tsitsipas, 23, said he hoped to speak to him directly.“If there’s something that he has to tell me, we should speak, the two of us, to understand what went wrong,” Tsitsipas said. “I don’t think I broke any rules. I played by the guidelines, how everything is.“I don’t know how my opponent feels when I’m out there playing the match; it’s not really my priority,” Tsitsipas added. “As far as I’m playing by the rules and sticking to what the ATP says is fair, then the rest is fine.”Tsitsipas said his time off the court had simply been “the amount of time it takes for me to change my clothes and to walk back to the court.”Acknowledging that players are often accused of abusing bathroom break or medical timeout rules to change the momentum of the match, Murray said he and other members of the player council had discussed rule changes that might make gamesmanship more difficult.“If everyone else feels like that’s totally cool and there’s no issue with it, then maybe I’m the one being unreasonable,” Murray said. “But I think it’s nonsense. And he knows it, as well.”Murray waits for Tsitsipas to return to their match.Elsa/Getty ImagesIn a statement, the United States Tennis Association said it “regards pace of play as an important issue in our sport,” citing its past implementation of visible serve clocks and warm-up clocks in recent years. “We need to continue to review and explore potential adjustments to the rules, whether for bathroom breaks/change of attire or other areas, that can positively impact the pace of play for our fans and ensure the fairness and integrity of the game,” the statement said.Though tennis players are generally loath to weigh in on each other’s controversies, several couldn’t resist.“Andy is right!” Milos Raonic, a Canadian who is missing the U.S. Open with a right leg injury, posted to Twitter on Monday night.Asked after his first-round win on Tuesday if he felt Novak Djokovic was the favorite to win the U.S. Open, Alexander Zverev managed to fit in a dig at Tsitsipas in his answer.“I think Stefanos can play well if he doesn’t go to the moon and back for a toilet break, that will also help,” Zverev said with a grin.Zverev had previously leveled accusations of his own at Tsitsipas during their semifinal match at the Western & Southern Open in August, accusing him of using a mobile phone off court to illegally communicate about tactics with his coach and father, Apostolos.Zverev reiterated his suspicions on Tuesday. “He’s gone for 10-plus minutes; his dad is texting on the phone,” Zverev said. “He comes out, and all of a sudden his tactic completely changed. It’s not just me but everybody saw it. The whole game plan changes. I’m like, either it’s a very magical place he goes to, or there is communication there.“But I also don’t want to disrespect him,” Zverev added. “He is a great player.”Tsitsipas denied cheating on Monday.“I have never in my career done that; I don’t know what kind of imagination it takes to go to that point,” Tsitsipas said. “That’s not something I want to take seriously because it’s absolutely ridiculous to be thinking about that.”Tsitsipas received support from the American player Reilly Opelka, who also took a lengthy break during his first-round win.“We’re hydrating a lot; we have to use the bathroom,” Opelka said. “To change — my socks, shoes, my inserts in my shoes, shorts, shirt, everything, the whole nine yards, hat — it takes five, six minutes.“If people don’t understand that, then clearly they’ve never spent a day in the life of a professional athlete or come close to it,” Opelka said.Murray, who has spent most of his days in the life of a professional athlete, ended his news conference by saying that it was a shame that a five-hour match between two top players was eclipsed by stall tactics.“I’m sitting in here after a match like that against one of the best players in the world, and rather than talking about how fantastic he is, how good he is for the game, how great it was for me that I was able to put on a performance like that after everything that’s gone on the last four years, I’m sitting in here talking about bathroom breaks and medical timeouts and delays in matches,” Murray said. “That’s rubbish. I don’t think that that’s right.”Murray complains to an official between sets.Seth Wenig/Associated Press More

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      What to Watch Monday at the U.S. Open

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      Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas meet for the first time, and the spotlight shines once again on defending champion Naomi Osaka.How to watch: From noon to 6 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN; 7 to 11 p.m. on ESPN2; and streaming on the ESPN app.Matches to keep an eye on.Because of the number of matches cycling through courts, these times are estimates and may fluctuate based on when earlier play is completed. All times are Eastern Standard.Grandstand | 11 a.m.Simona Halep vs. Camila GiorgiSimona Halep, the 12th seed, pulled out of the Western & Southern Open earlier this month citing a tear in her right abductor. The two-time major champion is a tough competitor when healthy, but multiple injuries this year kept her out of the French Open and Wimbledon.Camila Giorgi, ranked 36th, is on an upswing, having won her first Masters 1000 event at the National Bank Open in August. Giorgi has an aggressive baseline game that will put Halep on defensive footing, and for both players it will be a proper test of their capabilities to make a deep run at the U.S. Open.ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM | 2 p.m.Andy Murray vs. Stefanos TsitsipasAndy Murray, who won the U.S. Open in 2012, has struggled with injuries since 2018, playing on the tour intermittently between surgeries. Still, Murray has been able to compete well enough, reaching the third round at Wimbledon in July.Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 3rd seed, crashed out of Wimbledon in the first round after a charge to the finals at the French Open. His consistency is often challenged by experienced players and the Greek star will be in for a grinding match against the three-time major tournament champion in their first meeting.ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM | 7 p.m.Naomi Osaka vs. Marie BouzkovaNaomi Osaka, the 3rd seed, won the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2020, and will be looking to start her title defense with a convincing first round victory. Osaka lost in the third round of the Olympics to the eventual silver medalist, Marketa Vondrousova. The disappointing result in Tokyo can surely be put behind her as she returns in front of the adoring crowds of New York.Marie Bouzkova reached her second career WTA final in February on the hard courts of Melbourne leading up to the Australian Open. The 23-year-old Czech won the Girls’ U.S. Open title in 2014 but has not replicated that success on the pro tour. An upset against Osaka would be her biggest win.Daniil Medvedev returns the ball during a practice session prior to the start of the U.S. Open.Sarah Stier/Getty ImagesARTHUR ASHE STADIUM | 9 p.m.Daniil Medvedev vs. Richard GasquetDaniil Medvedev, the 2nd seed, will face off against Richard Gasquet, a veteran of the ATP Tour, to cap the night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Medvedev won the National Bank Open earlier this month, and is a favorite to make the final on Sept. 12. Gasquet has not been past the third round of a major tournament since 2016, and an upset seems unlikely as Medvedev will look to repeat or better his finals run from 2019.Sleeper match of the day.Court 8 | 11 a.m.Mayar Sherif vs. Anhelina KalininaBoth Mayar Sherif and Anhelina Kalinina cracked the top 100 this year after career best performances at Grand Slam tournaments. Sherif became the first Egyptian woman to win a main draw match at a major tournament in Australia this year, and Kalinina reached the second round at the French Open. These promising players are well matched opponents. Kalinina won their only matchup when they met on clay in July, but Sherif is well suited to hardcourts and should be the slight favorite going into today’s match. More

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      After a Tough Wimbledon Loss, Andy Murray Questions His Future

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      There were strawberries, Champagne and a duchess buoying the mood at Centre Court, until Britain’s beloved son suffered his worst career defeat at the All England Club.WIMBLEDON, England — After a year that saw Wimbledon canceled for the first time since World War II, the brief interruption on Centre Court on Friday afternoon was relatively sparkling. More

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      For Roger Federer and Andy Murray, Wimbledon Is the Same, but Different

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      The All England Club is a special place for Federer, who has won eight titles on its grass courts, and for Murray, who lives nearby and won Olympic gold in 2012.Roger Federer went first in the Wimbledon interview room on Saturday. Andy Murray soon followed.“Ah, this is different,” Murray said in his baritone, as he settled into a familiar seat in unusual circumstances.Normally both Federer and Murray pack the place, but not this year as Wimbledon returns after a forced hiatus. Interviews are remote because of the pandemic, and the room was all but empty as they answered questions from the news media via Zoom.Federer holds the men’s record, with eight Wimbledon singles titles. Murray in 2013 became the first British man in 77 years to win the singles title, and he won it again in 2016.This Grand Slam tournament, venerable and beautiful, is their special place, the grassy and iconic spot that our minds will probably travel to first when we consider Federer and Murray after they are long retired and hitting tennis balls, or kicking soccer balls, to their grandchildren. They are both much closer to the end than the beginning of their remarkable careers, and this particular Wimbledon has a valedictory feel, even as both men are resistant to anyone else’s timetable. They will draw their own finish lines.Federer will be 40 in August and is playing on after three knee operations. Murray turned 34 last month and is playing Wimbledon for the first time since 2017, and the first time with an artificial hip joint.Both have proved their passion for the game beyond any reasonable doubt by enduring beyond even their own expectations.“Truthfully, I don’t think my goal was to play till 39 or 40 or more,” Federer said. “It was maybe more like 35, which was already a high number at the time.”His boyhood tennis role models, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Pete Sampras, were all retired by their early thirties. Andre Agassi, the tour’s elder statesman when Federer began dominating the tour with panache in the early 2000s, was finished at 36.“I remember a conversation with Pistol 10 years ago,” Federer said, using Sampras’s nickname. “He was wondering how much longer I had in the tank.”The surprising answer was at least 10 more years, but the question now is whether Federer still has enough in the tank to win one more Wimbledon or even make one more deep run.He hinted on Saturday that the answer would help determine how much longer he plays, as would the opinion of his wife, Mirka.“I think I made the most of it on the tour,” he said. “I enjoyed my travels, made it fun with Mirka and the family and the team, persevered somehow. No, the goal was not to play until 40. This all mainly came in the last years. I never thought. also, with the last surgeries I’ve had I would still be going. Look, I feel I still really love it, enjoy myself. I will see about the results — if they’re going to come back. This is why Wimbledon is clearly very important to me right now.”Federer has not won a major singles title since the 2018 Australian Open but he came within one point (and a few inches) of winning Wimbledon in 2019, failing to convert two match points against Novak Djokovic in the final and missing a first serve into the tape that would probably have been an ace on the first of those match points.But it’s a different Wimbledon now after a two-year break that saw the 2020 edition canceled because of the pandemic. The players, accustomed to renting homes near the All England Club, are not allowed to stay in private accommodation this year. All are required to stay in a large hotel near the Thames River, a 45-minute drive from the tournament.“It does feel totally different than the last 20 years here,” said Federer, who is in London with his support team but not his family. “We would arrive with the family — kids would be running everywhere. We organized the grocery shopping, got the house set up and all that stuff.”He sounded wistful but not resentful. “I still feel it’s a big privilege that I’m actually able to play Wimbledon,” he said. “I’m happy I’m here. I’m not going to be complaining,”But it is, in his own words, “strange to arrive at the hotel.”It must be even stranger for Murray, whose home is in Surrey, not far from the All England Club. But even the British players must enter the bubble.“I know it’s not normal, but it feels somewhat normal now that we’re a couple days out from Wimbledon, with all the players around and stuff, practicing, everybody doing media stuff today,” Murray said. “Knowing that in a couple of days’ time we’ll be playing not in front of a full crowd but in front of a lot of people. Just to me anyway, it feels like we’re getting closer to more normality. I’m happy about that.”Murray and Federer have shared plenty of tense and emotional moments at the All England Club. In 2012, Murray broke down in tears at the ceremony after losing the singles final to Federer. A few weeks later, Murray was in a very different mood after winning the gold medal over Federer at the London Olympics, where the tennis event was played on the same iconic patch of grass.Though Federer trails his two biggest rivals — Djokovic and Rafael Nadal — in their head-to-head matchups, he still leads Murray 14-11. They played five times in 2012 but, in a sign of how much has changed, they have not played on tour since August 2015: Their only match since then was at a charity exhibition in Glasgow in November 2017, when Murray, who was born in Glasgow, donned a Tartan hat and Federer wore a kilt.Such lighthearted moments on court have been rare of late. They have played and won little in 2021. It has been a rough road, but the journey has been rougher for much longer on Murray, whose body broke down not long after his finest season in 2016, when he finished No. 1.Murray, now ranked 119, is not necessarily playing for more major titles. He is playing to practice his craft, use his talent and sink his teeth into competition — and is convinced he can still compete with the best if he can just stay healthy. Federer, still ranked 8th, is more focused on the trophies, which is partly why he withdrew after winning three rounds at the French Open earlier this month. He knew his chances of reaching the finish line were better at Wimbledon than at Roland Garros.But he lost early on grass in Halle, Germany, at his traditional Wimbledon warm-up tournament, looking disgruntled and off-target with the match on the line against the young Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. Murray warmed up at Queen’s Club and was beaten in the second round by Matteo Berrettini, an Italian with a thunderous serve and forehand.Long ago, Murray and Federer had a rocky start to their relationship, with Murray, the younger player on the rise, taking exception to some of Federer’s post-match comments on his game. But there is genuine warmth between them at this late stage. They are both fathers of four with a taste for country life and a desire to serve the game. Murray has become the more outspoken, often carrying the banner for the women’s game as well as the men’s, but both are members of the ATP Player Council.On Friday, they trained together, occupying Court 14 with Centre Court looming nearby. It was, if their memories served, their first practice session together in more than 15 years.“I’m probably appreciating those things more,” Murray said. “When I take a step back from that, as a tennis fan, getting to play with Roger Federer two days before Wimbledon, it’s really great. I haven’t had the opportunity to do that sort of stuff much over the last few years. I enjoyed it.”So did Federer.“You can see how comfortable he is on the grass,” Federer said. “Clearly, it’s just practice. We’re trying things, but I hope he can go deep here, have a nice run. Same for me.” More

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      Andy Murray Tests Positive for Coronavirus

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesA Future With CoronavirusVaccine InformationF.A.Q.TimelineAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyAndy Murray’s Australian Open Said to Be in Doubt After Positive TestMurray reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus just before he was to leave for Melbourne, where strict quarantine rules await all players.Andy Murray in September at the French Open, where he lost in the first round.Credit…Charles Platiau/ReutersJan. 14, 2021, 9:02 a.m. ETAndy Murray has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus, putting his participation in next month’s Australian Open in doubt.Murray had been planning to fly to Melbourne this week to begin a two-week quarantine required by the tournament, which begins Feb. 8, three weeks later than usual because of the pandemic.Under rules agreed to by the tournament and Australia’s government, players, coaches and anyone else traveling to the event must return a negative virus test before departing. More testing — and strict rules about movement, housing and playing — await upon arrival.Murray, who was reported to be not showing any symptoms of Covid-19, was said to be hopeful he might still be able to play in the tournament.A three-time Grand Slam single champion, Murray, 33, has fallen to No. 123 in the world rankings after playing only a handful of matches in 2020 because of a pelvic injury. He received a wild card to this year’s Australian Open, where he is a five-time runner-up.The tournament has put in place strict rules to try to limit the spread of the virus as hundreds of players and their entourages, as well as news media members and other support staff, arrive in the country from around the world. Bubbles will be set up for everything from housing to training, and players and others will be subject to daily virus testing.During the 14-day quarantine period after they arrive in Australia, players will be able to leave their hotel rooms to work out for no more than five hours a day at a secure facility. The Victoria government said hundreds of staff members had been hired to attend to the needs of those in the quarantine hotels, and that the police would play a role in enforcing quarantine rules.Qualifying for the Australian Open has been taking place in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.Some players have simply stayed home. The American John Isner, ranked No. 25, said he would not play in the event because the quarantine measures would keep him away from his family for too long.No. 5 Roger Federer will also miss the event, citing knee problems. Most of the other top-ranked men’s players are still planning to attend.The American Tennys Sandgren, ranked No. 50, flew to Australia despite a recent positive test. He received special clearance after health officials determined that he was not infectious, because he showed no symptoms and had previously tested positive for the virus in November. “Some people who have recovered from Covid-19 and who are noninfectious can continue to shed the virus for several months,” the tournament said.After a spike in August, Australia has largely contained the virus through strict border closings lockdowns and other measures. The country is currently averaging about 20 new cases a day.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More