CNN
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Andy Murray remained furious after being denied the chance to go to the bathroom in the middle of his five-set marathon against Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open.
The former world No. 1 had battled from a two-set deficit against Kokkinakis to leave a decisive fifth set between him and victory.
On the break before the last frame, Murray asked to use the bathroom, only to be told by the chair umpire that he was not allowed to as he had already been once. in the game.
“Do you know something? I respect the rules. It’s a joke, it’s a joke and you know it too,” the 35-year-old told the referee.
“It’s so disrespectful that the tournament has us here until three, fucking four in the morning and we’re not allowed to pee.
“It’s disrespectful to you, it’s disrespectful to the children on the ball, it’s disrespectful to the players and we’re not allowed to go to the toilet. It’s ridiculous.”
2003 US Open winner Andy Roddick agreed with Murray’s complaints, write on twitter: “Correct. This is so stupid.
It is not the first time during this grand slam that restrictions on players using the toilet have made headlines after Novak Djokovic appeared to take matters into his own hands to take an early break in the toilet during his victory in the first round.
The Serbian asked to go to the bathroom just five games into his match against Roberto Carballés Baena on Tuesday, but the referee didn’t seem to hear Djokovic so he could be heard saying ‘hello’ three times to get his attention before Djokovic said: “I” I’m going to the toilet.
The 21-time Grand Slam winner ran off the pitch with the referee shouting ‘Novak’ after him. Although the referee could be heard saying he had 30 seconds to return, Djokovic was back on the pitch before time ran out, comfortably winning the next game.
Afterwards, Djokovic denied defying the referee’s orders by going to the bathroom.
“So she said (you didn’t film this with a camera), I had to hurry. When I almost left the court, she called me (I didn’t hear) and it was to tell me that the toilets were on the other side of the court,” Djokovic wrote on Instagram.
“I found one where I went too, and had to be quick because of the weather. I didn’t ‘challenge’ her or the rules. She gave me permission and told me to be quick.
Exploding or not being able to go to the bathroom didn’t hamper Murray in the final set as he earned a famous victory that lasted five hours and 45 minutes in total – the longest match in the Murray’s illustrious career.
The match, which took place after 4am in Melbourne, was another reminder of the qualities we’ve come to know Murray for: grit, determination and that ‘never give up’ attitude.
Murray will now face No. 24 seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round.
