19 January 2023 , 22:18
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Andy Murray has admitted his heroic Australian Open victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis should have been halted.
The Scot bounced back from two sets down to progress to the third round in Melbourne with the epic match lasting over five hours before eventually finishing at 4.05am.
Murray was asked afterwards if he felt playing so late was dangerous, and admitted: "Potentially. I don't know who it's beneficial for. A match like that and that's what the discussion is, rather than it being like, epic Murray vs Kokkinakis match.
“It ends in a bit of a farce. Amazingly people stayed until the end, and I really appreciate people doing that and creating an atmosphere for us at the end.
"If my child was a ball kid for a tournament and they're coming home at five in the morning, as a parent, I'm snapping at that. It's not beneficial for them.
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"It's not beneficial for the umpires, the officials. I don't think it's amazing for the fans. It's not good for the players.
"So yeah, we talk about it all the time, and it's been spoken about for years. But when you start the night matches late and have conditions like that, these things are gonna happen."
During the epic five-set match, Murray slammed the competition rules after not being allowed another toilet break. The Scot vented his frustration at the 'disrespectful' and 'ridiculous' decision, adding: "It's a joke!"
Andy Murray celebrates his stunning win (Getty Images)Speaking afterwards on the incident, he added: "It's three in the morning and I've been drinking all day. I need to go to the toilet and it's just obviously frustrating in that moment.
"I understand it. You don't want people taking advantage of the rules but when you're sticking players on the court at three, four in the morning then sometimes there needs to be a little bit of leeway.”
His comments were echoed by tennis legend John McEnroe, who believes there should be a cut-off point for late finishes.
He told Eurosport: “This is crazy to have players play to this hour at this level with so much at stake. To me it's just absurd that the players are playing, it's going to be a match people talk about, but it's also a match that greatly affects Andy's chances of going deeper in the tournament."