Why was Andy Murray denied a bathroom break in his Australian Open match?
The former world No. 1 appeared to lose his cool, after he was denied the opportunity to answer nature’s call during his Australian Open match.
In what turned out to be an epic marathon match of tennis, the Brit had to overcome a loss of temperament to remain focused enough to claim victory. Though one has to wonder whether he had a point in the dispute that occurred with the match official.
No bathroom break for Andy Murray ‘Down Under’
On Wednesday night, Andy Murray emerged victorious from a sensational five-set match against Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round of the Australian Open. To be clear, the duel between the two men lasted for five hours and 45 minutes, which is to say quite some time. With a match that long, you’d think there would be multiple bathroom breaks, but you’d be wrong and so was Murray for thinking he’d be allowed to go to the restroom. At around 3:00 a.m. when the Scotsman requested a bathroom break, he was denied and he made it clear he was not happy.
"It's a 𝐣𝐨𝐤𝐞... It's 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥!" 😡
— Eurosport (@eurosport) January 19, 2023
Andy Murray is furious for not being allowed a bathroom break at the end of the fourth set during his late-night encounter against Thanasi Kokkinakis... #AusOpen | @andy_murray pic.twitter.com/Q56CjltfFA
Following his win in the fourth set, Murray asked the chair umpire if he could go to the restroom, at which point the official reminded him that he had previously used all of his bathroom allowances. It was then, that Murray proceeded to lose his cool. “Do you know something? I respect the rules,” Murray said to the chair umpire. “It’s so disrespectful that the tournament has us out here until 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning and we’re not allowed to go and take a piss. It’s a joke.”
The bathroom break has been a problem in tennis before
To be fair, this isn’t the first time we’ve witnessed players taking issue with rules surrounding bathroom breaks, nor is it the only time in this year’s tournament. Incidentally, another former world No. 1 agreed with Murray’s stance. American, Andy Roddick, called the decision “dumb.” While in the Australian Open’s first round, yet another former No. 1, Novak Djokovic, courted controversy on social media after he was seen walking off the court to go to the bathroom. Many believed, that the Serbian had simply disregarded the umpire and the rules and left the court, however, he later explained he was granted permission.
Euro sport not capturing @DjokerNole Toilet break story correctly, @RafaelNadalFC racquet missing, @andy_murray having to play till 3.30 am morning; denied bathroom break & umpire not acting against drunk abusive fans during @DjokerNole match. @AustralianOpen can do better !
— RSJ (@radhe_rosu) January 20, 2023
Where the match itself is concerned, Murray finished the late night with a 4-6, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 7-5 win at approximately 4:05 a.m. local time in Melbourne. If you’re wondering, that was the second-latest finish in Grand Slam tennis history. Interestingly, he actually criticized the idea that any match should last that long, explaining that it was likely not good for players nor fans. “I don’t think it’s amazing for the fans. It’s not good for the players,” Murray said after the match. “So, yeah, we talk about it all the time. It’s been spoken about for years. When you start the night matches late and have conditions like that, these things are going to happen.”