WATCH: Andy Murray fights the chair umpire for a toilet break after the match went past 3 AM at the Australian Open
Andy Murray engages in a heated argument with chair umpire during the second round match of the Australian Open 2023.
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Andy Murray with the chair umpire
Andy Murray continues to fascinate the tennis world as the Big-4 member bounced back from an almost impossible position to win his second-round match against Thanasi Kokkinakis in 5 hours and 45 mins. He came back from 2-5 in the third set to win the match in five sets. The Briton, who is playing with a metal hip, has shown incredible endurance so far in this Australian Open campaign. The final score was 4-6, 6-7(4-7), 7-6(7-5), 6-3, 7-5.
The match had all flavor of an entertaining thriller will be remembered forever. In between the match, one video of Andy Murray fighting with the chair umpire for not allowing him a toilet break went viral on social media. Andy Murray seemed upset during the heat of the moment and he even called the chair umpire’s decision “a joke” and “disrespectful“. He also termed it as “ridiculous” during the short, heated conversation.
The match ended at 4 AM Melbourne time and had a number of mouth-watering rallies and drama. The incident of Murray fighting with the chair umpire is called ridiculous by most tennis fans as well. The tweet got a lot of reactions and has most people on Murray’s side. The authority of chair umpires to take decisions like this was criticized by most people.
How far can Andy Murray go in the Australian Open 2023?
After two back-to-back five-setters back in three days, Andy Murray seems to be turning the clock back. These two wins must be on top of his illustrious career. Coincidentally, it happened to be in the same tournament where his farewell video was shown years ago thinking that the Briton will never play again after his earlier retirement due to the hip injury.
This was the 11th victory for Murray coming back from two sets down, the highest by any player in the history of the sport. Murray’s sheer grit and determination got him through in both of the epic encounters. Also, the shot selection was perfect at crucial points in both matches. The second-round victory against the home crowd favorite Kokkinakis is the second-longest match ever in the history of the Australian Open. The match fell nine minutes short of the longest match ever at the AO. That was between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the 2012 Australian Open final.
Andy Murray will now take on the 24th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut. The Spaniard defeated qualifier, Brandon Holt, in another five-set battle earlier today. Similar to Murray, Agut was also two sets down but eventually won 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
Murray has the heart of a champion. But after these grueling encounters, how much gas is left in him has to be thought about. It’s going to be tough against Roberto as well but he will give everything he has.
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Vipul Payattuparambil
(552 Articles Published)