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Andy Murray’s second-round victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open in January ended at 4 a.m.
CNN
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The Australian Open will add an extra day to its schedule next year in a bid to reduce pressure on players and fans after a string of punishing matches in recent years that ended in the early hours.
The new 15-day schedule for January’s season-opening grand slam in Melbourne comes after growing calls to limit the finishing times of a notoriously congested schedule marked by long matches. into the night and bothering the players.
In this year’s tournament, Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis famously ended a marathon battle at 4:05 a.m. in a second-round match that lasted nearly six hours.
Murray, a three-time grand slam champion and former world No. 1, remaining upset not only for the duration of the match but also because he was denied the opportunity to go to the toilet in the middle of the match.
The Australian Open has a tough schedule in the early stages of the tournament; five games are regularly played each day on the show courts – three in the day session and two in the evening.
“We are listening to feedback from players and fans and are excited to provide a solution to minimize late finishes while continuing to provide a fair and equitable schedule on the stadium courts,” said the Australian Open tournament director. Craig Tiley in a statement.
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The marathon match between Murray and Kokkinakis continued into the small hours in Melbourne.
With the new changes, the first round of the tournament will last three days, instead of the previous two, which will relieve the pressure of the busy beginning stages.
The new dates of the Australian Open for 2024 are January 14-28 and the Sunday start will increase the number of sessions in the three arenas from 47 to 52. But the organizers did not mention whether there a cutoff time for night games.
The clash between Murray and Kokkinakis is only the second-latest finish in the history of the tournament.
In 2008, Lleyton Hewitt defeated Marcos Baghdatis in five sets at 4:33 a.m. after Roger Federer had spent four and a half hours to defeat Janko Tipsarevic earlier in the day.
Those late finishes are a bonus for international viewers in Europe and North America, who can enjoy the drama and tension of a five-set match in their daylight hours. But they are less fun for the players and those watching the stands.
The lack of a time cap in tennis means that matches last as long as it takes the players to win.
Three of the four grand slams – the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open – currently schedule evening sessions, while Wimbledon ends its evening sessions at 11pm with the unfinished matches to be continued the next day.
the curfew at Wimbledonimplemented in 2009, it was said to be intended to allow spectators to return home safely from the venue but the cutoff sometimes left fans hanging on a cliff during the worst matches.
the top professional game happened at Wimbledon in 2010 when US player John Isner defeated French opponent Nicolas Mahut after an epic 11-hour match played over three days.