Andy Murray winning at 4 AM in Melbourne is a sign the Australian Open has to set its house in order
Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis played out a thriller in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open but did raise some big questions for the organizers following the late finish.
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Andy Murray - IMAGO / AAP
Andy Murray‘s against-all-odds second-round win, which ended at 4 am Melbourne time, has brought into focus scheduling at the Australian Open. And, rightly so. As much as tennis is a TV spectacle these days, spare a thought for players to be up at a time when they should be in bed, or getting ready to brush their teeth.
That is if you are an early morning riser. Melbourne and the weather are crazy. One saw in the ICC T20 World Cup last year how crucial cricket matches were rained out. This city has crazy weather patterns and to subject players to such torture casts a shadow on the organizational capacity of the Grand Slam, where the CEO of Tennis Australia and boss of the AO, Craig Tiley needs to do some soul searching.
Melbourne is not raucous like New York where fans get pissed drunk, puke, and watch tennis at 3 am. Out there, in Big Apple, it is acceptable. Fans get drunk, shout loud, and so on. Melbourne is supposed to have better tennis etiquette in the stands, which is missing this time. Even the chair umpires have come in for copious criticism from players. It is not a one-off thing, really.
Toilet breaks to towels, there have been issues. Go by the rules, no worries. Please do not subject players to torture in scheduling. It may be great as you will capture the TV audience in prime time in a few more countries. After all, Melbourne is Down Under and the time difference between the AO host and New York is around 14 1/2 hours.
Andy Murray sets an example for newcomers after his marathon win
The time difference between Melbourne and London is around 11 hours, which means even in London, people were in pubs early to catch Andy Murray hammering the hell out of his opponent and his own body. Each Grand Slam has its unique features. The heat of Melbourne has been pathetic. It is taxing on players, the heat rule comes into play and only two courts can operate.
The backlog of matches is so bad, players feel the pressure, physically and mentally. Players have complained, staff at AO have complained and young kids in ball boys’ roles go back home at 5 am like zombies. This is not on. There has to be a method in the madness, or else people will curse this Grand Slam. Back to Murray the magician, he has shown that an ageing body, a replaced hip part, and so on does not matter.
What gives him a high is tennis and enables the body to keep punching is his mental will. Sir Andy is willing himself on, setting an example to Gen Next, on how to handle cruel conditions. The worst part is, Andy Murray hardly gets any time to recuperate. As it were, two long matches have sapped him. In the good old days, Jimbo — Jimmy Connors — had even done IV set (intra venous) fusion on the court to rehydrate and get the juices flowing. One cannot do all that now.
Melbourne weather is affected due to global warming, say people. Tennis is meant to be a test of skills and strokes. One does not have to be superhuman to withstand the vagaries of weather. What Murray has shown with his performances is sublime. He was supposed to be a fossil, a bit like the extinct Dinosaur.
No way, Sir Andy deserves a loud round of applause, once more. He has restored sanity at the AO, after all the bombing and strafing on the courts over the first four days. Cheers, Andy.
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