Andy Murray has echoed Carlos Alcaraz's criticism of tennis matches finishing late, saying players should not be going on court at midnight. The former world No 1 told The Times: "The late finishes are just nonsense. I said that years ago and the tournaments said they've tried to make changes and it keeps on happening."
Alcaraz's US Open ordeal
The debate was reignited after Alcaraz's US Open quarter-final defeat to Ben Shelton ended at 3:30am local time, having started just after 11pm due to earlier delays. The Spaniard, making his comeback from injury, appeared to struggle during the match.
Alcaraz said: "For an athlete finishing at 3:30am means you have to leave the court at 4:30am and return to the hotel. You won't sleep until 6:30am or 7:00am. The person you are playing next has an advantage. It's too much; they will have to do something. For me even finishing at 12:00am is already too late."
Murray's wider concerns
Murray argued the issue affects more than just the players. "I just don't think players should be going on court at midnight. It's not just the players. I don't think it's beneficial for anybody. You're supposed to be entertaining people and normally the vast majority have left the stands," he said.
He added: "You've got ball kids on the court. If I was their parent, I'd be like, 'What are they doing putting them out at 3am?' And there's all the other people working at the venue. I really don't like it."
Calendar criticism
Murray also criticised the busy tennis calendar, linking it to Alcaraz's injury. He said: "I also don't like the [12-day] Masters events. I think [the ATP] needs to change that back. The players don't like it. The tournaments are now missing out on top players going to play in them, because they're not going to play Cincinnati and Canada before the US Open because that's a really long stretch away."
He concluded: "I don't think it works. I don't think it's a good thing for the product that all the players are complaining about the schedule. Tennis has a lot of great things, but you often don't hear about any of them because of things like this that could be quite easily solved."
