By Chris Oddo | Friday August 3, 2018
Andy Murray’s emotionally draining three-hour victory over Marius Copil, which ended after three A.M. last night at the Citi Open and was the tournament's latest finish in history, was also physically draining. So much so that the three-time major champion has pulled out of his quarterfinal with Alex de Minaur on Friday and he also pulled out of next week’s Rogers Cup draw in Toronto.
Murray, who broke into tears and sobbed for nearly a minute after his victory on Friday morning, released the following statement through the tournament on Friday:
"I won’t be able to play my match tonight. I’m exhausted after playing so much over the last 4 days, having not competed on the hard courts for 18 months. I also need to be careful and to listen to my body as I come back from a long-term injury. I’m gutted not to be playing and I’d like to thank the tournament and all the fans. There are lots of positives to take from this week, so I’ll take some time to rest and recover (I won’t play in Toronto next week) and then head to Cincinnati early to prepare and get ready."
According to the Associated Press, Murray was not pleased at all with the late finish and he had some choice words after his match on Friday morning.
“Finishing matches at 3 in the morning is not good,” Murray said. “It’s not good for the players. It’s not good for anyone, I don’t think, involved in the event. It’s not good for fans, TV. Nobody. I’m giving my view right now as someone who’s just come back from a very, very long injury layoff. I don’t think I should be put in a position like that, when you’re expected to come out and perform the next day.”
Tournament director Keely O'Brien then made some tone-deaf remarks to the Washington Post on Friday which caused a stir on social media.
“I hope that Andy really takes into consideration this role in his sport and as a global role model to guys and girls on the tour and kids around the world that, when things are difficult and tough and the conditions aren’t great, that it’s not okay to just give up,” O’Brien told the Washington Post. “I hope we see him on court tonight fighting like he did last night, because that, I believe, is the right message for anyone in this sport. Certainly if he can’t play because of his injury, that’s one thing. But he’s a fighter, and he doesn’t give up, and he needs to have everyone see that.”
In an event where players can play six matches in seven days, many of them less than 24 hours apart, her words seemed insensitive to the plight of the players in a day and age where the physicality of the tennis is making it harder than ever for players to stay healthy.
That said, with rain a factor on each day of play so far at the Citi Open, the tournament has had its hands tied this week. There may not be much that could have been done (switching Murray's match to an outside court earlier in the evening might have alleviated the situation, but Murray is the tournament's main draw and the decision to leave him on the main stadium was made with the fans in mind). No matter the decision, O'Brien certainly could have shown more sensitivity to the plight of her players.
Murray, who won three consecutive three-setters at Washington, D.C., has only recently returned to the tour after undergoing hip surgery in January. He played two grass-court events in London and Eastbourne this summer before electing to take a cautious approach and skip Wimbledon.
Here at the Citi Open he was put to task and pushed hard in all three of his matches in extremely hot, humid conditions. He played over two and a half hours in his first-round match on Monday, then over two and a half hours on Wednesday when he defeated Kyle Edmund, before his three hour and two-minute victory over Copil on Friday Morning.
Murray appeared to be laboring last night late in the third set, but it’s difficult to tell if he has done any damage to his surgically repaired right hip.
He will be replaced by Stan Wawrinka in the Rogers Cup draw.