“No other sport does this,” Australian Open’s poor scheduling gets criticized as Thanasi Kokkinakis and Andy Murray’s match ends after 4 AM
As the second round match between Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis continued even after 4 AM, Tennis world slams the Australian Open for the poor scheduling of matches.
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Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis
The grueling battle between Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis which continued for 5 hours and 45 minutes presented Melbourne Park with a sleepless night. As the match ended after 4 AM, the scheduling of the matches in the Australian Open 2023 has once again been questioned by fans and pundits the world over. The poor schedule also means that Murray, who won an epic match, will basically have no rest day prior to his third-round match. The final score was 4-6, 6-7(4-7), 7-6(7-5), 6-3, 7-5.
Jamie Murray, Professional tennis player and the brother of Andy Murray, posted on Twitter, “Time for tennis to move to only one 1 match at the night sessions at grand slams. This is the best outcome for ALL singles players. We can’t continue to have players compete into the wee hours of the morning. Rubbish for everyone involved – players/fans/event staff Etc.“
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova also shared her disappointment with wrong scheduling, “It is essential we create better rules in tennis regarding the weather(light and wind) and starting times or cutoff times for matches. Murray and Kokkinakis will finish around 4 am. Crazy- no other sport does this“. She also tagged Australian Open and ITF(International Tennis Federation) in her tweet.
Tweets slamming the Australian Open led to a lot of discussions and reactions. There were tweets asking more players to follow the PTPA (Professional Tennis Players Association) for more power in questioning schedules like this. Also, some people were supporting the best of three sets format to be followed in Grand Slam, too. But most of the replies were against that statement. It is understood that most of the fans still love the drama and entertainment of a five-setter, irrespective of the long hours of play.
Heat waves and rain led to the rescheduling of some matches in the previous days. The weather uncertainty eventually led to the increased number of matches in a day and schedules like this.
Andy Murray will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round of the Australian Open
The former World No.1 Andy Murray has given his all in the first two rounds. This resulted in two epic five setters. While the first-round victory against Italian World No.14 Matteo Berrettini needed a match point to be saved, the second-round victory was one of the all-time great comebacks. The final score against Berretini was 6-3,6-3,4-6,6-7(7-9),7-6(8-6) whereas the second round victory against Kokkinakis was by a scoreline of 4-6, 6-7(4-7), 7-6(7-5), 6-3, 7-5.
Murray showed great intensity and hunger to win both matches. Even though his best level of tennis before the hip injury is far away, there were some absolute moments of greatness in both matches. The shot selection during crucial points of the matches separated him from his opponents. With the win against Kokkinakis, he became the player to do the most comebacks after going down two sets in the history of the sport. This was the Briton’s 11th comeback victory of his career.
Now he has to deal with an experienced Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round. Roberto also had to deal with a five -setter in the previous round where he overcame the qualifier, Brandon Holt, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. If he has enough gas left in the tank, we can expect a great battle in the third round as well.
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