Are Late Night Tennis Matches Unprofessional?
By Jake Scudder
Thursday night in Glasgow, Scottish Star Andy Murray certainly gave his opinion on the matter. Murray, who was competing in Scotland’s Davis Cup tie with the USA, found himself in a tough 3 set battle into the early hours of the morning. Playing alongside fellow Great Britain compatriot Joe Salisbury, the pair couldn’t win the deciding set falling 5-7 6-4 7-5 to American duo Rajeev Ram and Jack Sock.
It was Murray’s post match comments that grabbed the headlines though, the Scotsman voicing his displeasure over the late start to his match, which started at 22:10 local time. “It’s something that tennis needs to sort of have a bit of a think about,” he told reporters. “I don’t think it looks that professional. It would be better if they were earlier I think for everyone involved.”
Playing overnight matches into the early morning hours is nothing new for the sport. Fans have seen some marathon matches over the years, usually taking place at Grand Slam events where the court schedules are jam-packed with matches. Who can forget the epic 2012 Australian Open final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, a 5 hour and 53 minute slog which Djokovic won at approximately 1:37am in the morning.
If Murray thinks his recent 1am exit off the court looks unprofessional then he may need to spare a moment for former tennis stars Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis. In 2008 at the Australian Open, the pair played almost long enough to see an Australian summer sunrise, with their brutal 5 set match ending at 4:34 am local time.
Just recently, US Open Champion Carlos Alcaraz played 2 matches past 2 am in the morning on his quest to Grand Slam glory. Murray went on to say “I don’t think it’s ideal for you guys [media]. I don’t think it’s ideal for the fans,” he added. “That match that we played there, there’s probably half of the people in there at the end of the match that were there at the beginning. He also labelled the use off ball boys and girls “inappropriate” for that time of day.
Murray makes some valid points here, but its hard to sympathise with a professional athlete who plays a sport in front of a global audience for a living. It’s a nice consideration of him to think of the fans, but fans will leave if they want to head home, and possibly watch the remainder of the match on TV. After all, tennis is followed by a global audience and what may seem early in the morning for Murray is the perfect viewing time for fans in other parts of the world.
Working a night shift isn’t the greatest, but Murray, alongside many other Grand Slam champions, have reaped the rewards that the sport has given them over the years. The longer these matches go, the longer tennis is on the TV. The longer tennis is on the TV, means more opportunity for advertising and sponsors. Ultimately, some of that generated revenue has found its way into Murray’s pocket over the years through prize money and sponsorships. Playing overnight may be annoying, but sometimes it what’s required to become a winner, what’s required to become a champion.