Let’s Talk About Murray vs Tsitsipas
Wow. What a match that was. 4 hours and 44 minutes of pure, world-class tennis produced by two players at the opposite ends of their careers. One, a future grand-slam winner whose serve and one-handed backhand has propelled him to the top of the game. The other, a 34-year-old injury-ridden comeback kid full of passion and a metal hip.
It was a match that had plenty of high-quality rallies and importantly an insane amount of drama.
Image rights: Bleacher Report
Bathroom Break Dilemma
I personally have no issue with Stefanos' eight-minute toilet break after the fourth set. Something, however, tells me that Andy does. I agree it is a cheap tactic and is not the first time the Greek has used it in close encounters. Most notably, a few weeks ago against Sascha Zverev. The German accused the third seed of "cheating" after taking his bag during a lengthy bathroom break.
This instance was different. Tsitsipas didn't bring his bag, changed his clothes and from what I could make out during Murray’s conversation with match supervisor Gary Armstrong—used the toilet for more personal matters.
That explanation didn’t put Andy’s mind to rest. He was seen screaming “it is cheating” towards his box. One of many things he was shouting at them. And during his on-court discussion with Armstrong, the Scot claimed that “it’s never taken me that long to go to the bathroom ever” before highlighting the proximity of the toilets to the court. Now, I’m not sure about everyone else, but I don’t think it takes everyone the same amount of time to use the toilet.
That is not me saying what Stefanos did wasn’t intentional. It was clearly a stalling tactic, but a legal one at that. As stated several times during last nights Amazon commentary, no rule limits the time you can take during a toilet break.
It was also not the first time in the match that a toilet break took almost ten minutes. After the second set, both players went off court to change their attire due to the high humidity in New York. Andy did not complain that time because the break benefited him. Tsitsipas had the momentum after winning the second set tie-break and Murray had spent the last ten minutes complaining about sweating through his shoes.
The break allowed the Brit to change his socks, put the air-con in his shoes to dry them up and change his clothes. This seemingly helped as he broke his opponent in his first service game of the third set. Going on to take two sets to one lead. The only difference is that during the second toilet break, Murray didn’t leave the court. Allowed it to affect his concentration and in turn, lost the match.
In the post-match interview, he claimed to have “lost respect” for Tsitsipas.
“It's not so much leaving the court. It's the amount of time," Murray stated. "It's nonsense and he knows it."
Even after sleeping on it, Andy tweeted, “fact of the day. It takes Stefanos Tsitsipas twice as long to go to the bathroom as it takes Jeff Bazos to fly into space. Interesting.” Doubling down on his outrage at his Greek opponent.
To some, it’s not a good look. To others, it’s classic Andy. Let us know what you think in the comments.
Where are the shoes?
Image Rights: Reuters
Even before the toilet tantrum, there was the shoe scandal.
It was late in the second set tie-break. The former world number one has just produced two amazingly instinctive volleys. The second of which forced his opponent to hit a weak, backfoot forehand. It was a great opportunity to dispatch the ball and put himself in a prime position to go two sets to love up.
Then he slips.
The 34-year-old has sweated through his shoes. As he’s tried to change direction, the lack of grip has caused him to fall. Meaning his opponent wins the point. At the change of ends, the detailed oriented Brit notices he hasn’t got any spare shoes. It’s a complete shock to both the player and the fans. It’s almost inconceivable that someone of such experience doesn’t have a change of shoes, especially for a five-set match.
It clearly affected Andy. Constantly shouting and looking at his team in disbelief. Even saying that they “never think of the small things”. It was an absolutely insane remark towards a team famous for their attention to detail. The Scot couldn’t re-concentrate himself and went on the lose the set.
But where were the spare shoes?
The answer: back at the hotel.
Jamie Delgado, Andy’s coach, explained that they don’t have any spare’s with them.
Considering the time it took for Murray to get another pair, it’s safe to say there weren’t any in the stadium. The Brit was so desperate for a second pair, he even asked his team to “message Evo [Dan Evans]." The British number one had earlier beaten Thiago Monteiro in four sets. But by the time Murray was in need, Evans would have left the National Tennis Centre a long time ago.
By the time the ten-minute toilet break had ended, Andy had cooled his shoes down and changed his socks, the problem didn’t seem to matter. In fact, I didn’t hear about the shoes again after the start of the third set. Yet it was so prevalent for the ten minutes after the slip. So much so it caused him to lose the second set and eventually the match. The three-time grand-slam winner has always been known for his anger on court. Yet more often than not, it helped him re-focus and take his game to another level. This time it cost him a major historical upset.
Awful day for the Brits
It was an awful day for Brits in general. Before Murray's valiant effort, the British exodus had already started. Heather Watson's dreadful US Open form continued. A dismal display against world 109th ranked Kaja Juvan, saw her record in New York go 0-10. An outstanding stat for a former junior winner at the tournament.
Harriet Dart was next to be knocked out. Although it was an impressive performance by the 25-year-old. She took the first set against former world number four Caroline Garcia. However, a combination of power from Garcia and a leg injury to the Brit saw her opponent go through 6-7, 6-4, 6-2.
The day was then topped off with a loss to Britains most in-form man, Cameron Norrie. The New-Zealand born player has taken the tour by storm this season. Winning 37 matches this season. Nevertheless, he failed to progress past the first round in the US. Coming up against exciting 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz. Whose defensive abilities were too much for 26th seed, winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
Patrick Stenson contributes to The Slice from London, England.