Murray may withdraw from quarter-final against Alex de Minaur: "Not playing, potentially, is possible. I don't know how players are expected to recover from that."
Saturday 4 August 2018 00:19, UK
Andy Murray has criticised the organisers of the Citi Open after his third-round victory over Marius Copil ended at 3am in Washington.
The three-time Grand Slam champion began the match after midnight local time following a fourth day of rain delays and outlasted world No 93 Marius Copil 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-4).
It was Murray's third three-set victory in four days to reach the quarter-finals, which take place later on Friday, in his first hardcourt tournament following an 11-month layoff for a hip injury but described the scheduling decision as "unreasonable".
When you're expected to come back and perform the next day, I think that's unreasonable.
"I don't think I should be put in a position like that," Murray, who was in tears at the end of the match, said.
"(My body) doesn't feel great right now. I've had a few long matches. Finishing matches at three in the morning isn't good for anyone involved in the event, players, TV, fans, anyone.
"When you're expected to come back and perform the next day, I think that's unreasonable. That's something the tour needs to look at."
The former world No 1 is due to continue his quest for a first title since Dubai in March 2017 against Australian teenager Alex de Minaur, live on Sky Sports, but Murray indicated he could yet withdraw to preserve his fitness.
"Not playing, potentially, is possible. I don't know how players are expected to recover from that," Murray said.
"It's like playing two matches in a day. I'm not sure how well I'll recover from that."
Murray buried his face in a towel at the end of the three-hour long match before sobbing at times and kept his head down as he exited the court.
"Not a whole lot, really, the emotions coming out at the end of an extremely long day and a long match," Murray said about what brought up his emotional reaction to victory.
