Jamie Murray has questioned why Zizou Bergs was permitted to leave the court for over eight minutes during his Shanghai Masters upset win over Carlos Alcaraz. The Belgian, a quarter-finalist in Shanghai last year, won the opening set 7-5 against the second seed, while Alcaraz struggled with the conditions and voiced his frustration towards his coaching box.
Break rules and the delay
After taking the lead, Bergs left the court for a bathroom break, leaving Alcaraz waiting at the baseline. Players are limited to three minutes for a regular toilet break and five minutes for a change-of-attire break. However, this clock only starts once they have entered the bathroom and does not include the time taken to walk there.
World No. 39 Bergs informed the umpire he would take the full five minutes to change his kit, but he ended up spending nearly double that time off the court. Alcaraz used the opportunity to speak with his team, who were seated behind the baseline.
Alcaraz's frustrations
The Spaniard had been struggling with the speed of the ball and the court during the first set, appearing animated when he ranted in their direction after going 5-6 down. He continued the conversation in a calmer manner while waiting for Bergs.
As the delay continued, Alcaraz paced around, jumping on the spot to stay warm and hitting serves. The umpire used his walkie-talkie to inform Bergs he had one minute to return, by which point he had already been gone for just over six minutes. When he finally returned, it had been just over eight minutes.
Murray's reaction
Retired doubles star Jamie Murray argued it did not take that long to return to the toilet, asking why the Belgian was allowed so much time away. “Over 8mins for a toilet break. Still not started back. Prob takes 20 secs to walk from centre court to the changing rooms in Shanghai. How is that acceptable/allowed?” the former doubles No. 1 wrote on social media.
Commentators agreed the lengthy break was unusual. “This is a long break, isn’t it? Doesn’t take that long to have a change of clothes as well, because that’s what he initially asked for,” Greg Rusedski said on the world feed. “Of course the lockers here are pretty close to where they are leaving the court, so that shouldn’t be a problem,” Nick Lester replied, just as Bergs made his way back down the tunnel. “There’s no real rush there, is there?” Rusedski laughed.
