Murray calls Tsitsipas breaks ‘nonsense’

NEW YORK (AP):

Andy Murray is aware that Stefanos Tsitsipas has a growing reputation for pushing the boundaries when it comes to taking breaks during a match. Murray expected that to be an issue during their first-round match at the US Open – and, when it was, that did not sit well. Not at all.

Murray figures there was enough for him to deal with in Monday’s high heat and humidity: He is 34. He has got an artificial hip. He is ranked 112th after a series of health issues. At one point, he tumbled to the ground, losing his balance in sweat-soaked shoes and leaving splotches on the blue court from his soggy clothing.

So as the contest stretched to almost five hours, Murray did not appreciate that Tsitsipas took a medical time-out after the third set and made a lengthy visit to the locker room after the fourth. Following an entertaining, back-and-forth 2-6, 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss to Tsitsipas, Murray complained about what he considered unfair gamesmanship by the French Open runner-up and announced: “I lost respect for him.”

“It’s nonsense. And he knows it, as well,” said Murray, who is nearly a decade – and a pair of hip operations – removed from a US Open championship.

Told of Murray’s displeasure, the just-turned-23 Tsitsipas said: “If there’s something that he has to tell me, we should speak, the two of us, to kind of understand what went wrong. I don’t think I broke any rules.”

Murray explained later he thought the interruptions played a role.

“It’s just disappointing, because I feel it influenced the outcome of the match. I’m not saying I necessarily win that match, for sure, but it had influence on what was happening after those breaks,” he said. “You could argue that I shouldn’t let that affect me. But genuinely it is difficult, like, when you’re playing such a brutal match in those conditions to have those breaks. Physically you can’t stop that from affecting you. Mentally, yes, but physically you can’t.”