Andy Murray slams Wimbledon late matches: ‘Roof should not be used to make it a night tournament’

Seven weeks on from his Wimbledon exit, Andy Murray is still fuming about the overnight suspension that allowed his opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas to escape – especially as Murray had warned tournament bosses of the danger in advance.

In the build-up to the event, Murray asked the All England Club hierarchy not to schedule him in the final slot on Centre Court because the new-look 1.30pm starts often see matches over-run the hours of daylight.

But his entreaties fell on deaf ears – and Murray believes that the Club is pushing for more late finishes because it improves their broadcasting income.

“I had multiple conversations [with the All England Club] before the start of the tournament and asked not to play the third match every single day,” said Murray, who had led a frustrated Tsitsipas by two sets to one when play was suspended on Thursday night, only for his opponent to bounce back the following day.

“You know what is going to happen with the 1.30pm start and the breaks between matches. The roof, in my opinion, was there for when it rains. It feels like it’s getting used now for darkness, to play matches later in the evening.

“When you get that third slot, you have no way of practising on an indoor grass court. It’s not possible. I skipped the French Open to prepare to play my best tennis at Wimbledon, but then you’re playing every match under different conditions than what you’re preparing for.

“It’s not a major thing but anyone that plays tennis knows playing indoors and outdoors is not the same thing. It seems like a basic thing to change, just go back to the 1pm start or even 12.30pm. But it’s a financial reason they are doing it so it won’t change.”

In the immediate aftermath of his Wimbledon exit, a grim-faced Murray dead-batted any questions about the order of play on that first Thursday (which had fallen behind schedule when fellow Briton Liam Broady beat Casper Ruud in a fraction under three-and-a-half hours).

Now, however, he has clearly had time to digest what happened. And his point about the financial imperatives is a valid one. The All England Club renegotiated their broadcasting deal with the BBC in 2021, for a reported £60 million per annum. Telegraph Sport understands that the All England Club promised more live action in the evenings – even though their official policy is that Wimbledon is a daytime, outdoor event.

Thanks to his stature as a three-time major champion, Murray usually benefits from being scheduled on the biggest arenas – but he is also often asked to play at night. That has caused significant disruption for him this season, both at Wimbledon and at January’s Australian Open, where his riveting five-setter against Thanasi Kokkinakis ran until just after 4am.

On the upside, Murray’s first-round meeting with Corentin Moutet at the US Open has been listed as Tuesday’s second match on the Grandstand court. But the forecast suggests that Tuesday will be disrupted by regular rain-breaks, playing havoc with the schedule.

Weather permitting, there should be six Britons in action on Tuesday – which is thought to be the highest figure at this event since the 1970s. Murray’s compatriots include Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage, while Jack Draper is also down to play despite suffering pain in his serving shoulder at last week’s event in Winston-Salem.

“When I came home from the French Open they said, ‘You’ve got quite a big tear [in the shoulder], it went into the tendon,’” Draper said at the weekend. “I dodged having surgery, which was great, but I didn’t serve for many, many weeks. Then I decided to go after one as hard as I could [in Winston-Salem] and it didn’t like it. So I’ve got to protect it a little bit and not go too crazy. Luckily, I think my serve is decent enough to maybe take a little bit off it and still do well.”