20 January 2023 , 12:01
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John McEnroe has urged Australian Open tournament officials to implement a cut-off point to their evening games, after Andy Murray's clash with Thanasi Kokkinakis finished just after 4am. The duo played out a match for the ages in Melbourne, that lasted five hours and 45 minutes.
Despite being two sets down and a game away from losing, Murray completed one of tennis' great comebacks by winning three sets on the bounce to secure a remarkable 4-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory. The clash began at 10:20pm local time and did not finish until 4am the following day.
Whilst it produced one of the tournament's greatest ever clashes, a number of big names have criticised the organisation of the event, including eventual match winner Murray.
Labelling the schedule a 'farce', the British star said: "I don't know who it's beneficial for. We come here after the match and that's what the discussion is, rather than it being like, the epic Murray-Kokkinakis match. It ends in a bit of a farce."
This point was echoed by seven-time Grand Slam winner McEnroe, who described the early morning finish as 'absurd'. Speaking to Eurosport, he said: "This happens rarely, but to me they should ensure that this doesn't happen. This is crazy to have players play to this hour at this level with so much at stake.
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"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." Calling for a cut-off to be implemented, he added: "There's got to be some type of cut-off point.
Andy Murray recorded a remarkable victory against Thanasi Kokkinaki (Getty Images)Do you think there should be a cut off point? Let us know in the comments section below.
"Even then there would be complaints about that as well - like why stop it at one in the morning if it's two sets to one and players would want to finish? At what time is the legitimate time to stop playing? But these things need to be addressed." Another issue surrounding the clash was the players being denied a toilet break, something raised by Murray during the clash, telling the umpire it was a 'joke' and 'disrespectful'.
And once again this point was backed up by McEnroe. "At that hour and that length of match, if one of the guys wants to go to the bathroom, I don't care what the rules are at that point and I'm not even sure why he couldn't go. I don't understand what happened there," the American revealed.
"I heard Andy mouthing off about it and it did seem crazy, especially given the fact that people are taking advantage all the time. So why in the hell after all that, at that time, would you not allow that to happen?"
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