Former World Number 1 Andy Murray Takes a Dig at Scheduling Of US Open

The scheduling of the US Open has come under criticism from Andy Murray as the fourth-round match between Zheng Qinwen and Donna Vekic at the Arthur Ashe Stadium concluded at 2:15 AM local time, setting a record for the latest finish to a WTA match in New York history. The Chinese player advanced to the quarterfinals following this late-night encounter.

Zheng was originally scheduled to play the final match of the night session on Sunday, September 1. However, due to extended matches earlier in the day, the schedule was disrupted. The day session witnessed a lengthy five-set match between Grigor Dimitrov and Andrey Rublev, followed by Coco Gauff's match against Emma Navarro which also extended to three sets.

The delay in the day matches consequently caused the night session to start late. The evening session began with Frances Tiafoe's victory over Alexei Popyrin, followed by the match between Zheng and Vekic, which turned out to be the longest and latest-finishing match in New York Open history.

The previous record was set by Maria Sakkari's and Bianca Andreescu's fourth-round encounter in 2021, which finished at 2:13 AM. More recently, Sabalenka's victory concluded around 2:00 AM, while Alexander Zverev's win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry came at 2:35 AM on Saturday.

Andy Murray took to X (formerly Twitter) to criticize the scheduling decisions that led to the late-night finish. He called it 'amateurish' and called for improvements. 

Read Andy Murray's tweet on the scheduling of US Open matches

Also read:- World Number 6 Andrey Rublev Inflicts Self-Harm after Another Temper Outbreak

Not the first time, Murray blasted at the scheduling process

Andy Murray has criticized the scheduling of the night matches earlier as well. He took a dig at the scheduling pattern after his match against Thanasi Kokkinakis finished at 4.05 AM in the Australian Open  2023. 

Criticizing the scheduling, Murray explained how "it's not beneficial for anyone." Murray added that if his child was a ball kid in such matches, he would be snapped to see them get back to their house at 5 in the morning. 

He further stated:- " It's not beneficial for the umpires, the officials; I don't think it's Amazon for the fans or even the players."

Many tennis Stars, including Martina Navratilova, and Jamie Murray also criticized the scheduling of night matches from time to time.

Also read:- World Number 6 Andrey Rublev Inflicts Self-Harm after Another Temper Outbreak