"Do something about this; It's crazy, it's not fair" - Martina Navratilova and co. blast Australian Open schedule as Andy Murray match goes past 4 am 

Andy Murray’s 2023 Australian Open second-round match against Thanasi Kokkinakis has been one for the history books, but its scheduling has baffled tennis players.

Andy Murray played the longest match of his extensive career that started on January 19 and went into the early morning of Januray 20. The grueling five-setter against Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis lasted five hours and 45 minutes, and the clock struck past 4 in the morning as a shattered Kokkinakis waved a tearful goodbye and Andy Murray rejoiced in his hard-earned victory.

It is worth noting that all tennis tournaments are best-of-three sets, while the men’s Grand Slam events are played as best-of-five sets, which enhances the likelihood of long matches, such as that of Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis.

While the duo’s colleagues were appreciative of them for putting on a show, they were left flabbergasted by the Australian Open scheduling and criticized the Grand Slam rule book for such a farce, which affects not just the players, but also the ball-kids, umpires, and everyone involved.

18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova was greatly disappointed with the Australian Open and called for there to be a change in the sport.

"We’ve got to do something in our sport about this. No other sport has a finishing time of 4 in the morning and starting perhaps at 11. It’s crazy and it’s not fair," she said, "And we need to put some kind of a limit on when the match needs to stop and finish the next day. The guys would have preferred, I think, playing late afternoon the next day."

Andy Murray himself was not pleased with the scheduling and spoke his mind.

"If my child was a ball kid for a tournament, they're coming home at 5 in the morning, as a parent, I'm snapping at that. It's not beneficial for them. It's not beneficial for the umpires, the officials. I don't think it's amazing for the fans. It's not good for the players," he said.

Andy Murray's brother Jamie echoed the sentiments.

"Time for tennis to move to only one 1 match at the night sessions at grand slams. This is the best outcome for ALL singles players. We can’t continue to have players compete into the wee hours of the morning. Rubbish for everyone involved - players/fans/event staff Etc," he tweeted.

Former Czech player Barbora Strycova voiced similar concerns and called the situation “disrespectful.”

"It’s 3 in the morning in Melbourne right now. These 2 are playing for 4h 37min. And they are starting 5th set now. This is brutal for the players, ballkids, refs… How they can go fresh and play tomorrow another match? So disrespectful!!" she said.

Barbora Strycova on Instagram

Polish tennis player Magda Linette, who is scheduled for a late-night match at the Australian Open against Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Rod Laver on Saturday, January 21, agreed with her colleagues on the issue.

---

"That's the nature of it, You have to deal with it" - Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jannik Sinner open up about Australian Open scheduling after Andy Murray match

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz conclude their 2022 US Open match at 2.50 am

While many from the tennis fraternity voiced their concerns about the 2023 Australian Open scheduling, Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who are set up for a Round 4 clash on Sunday, expressed that they had made peace with the situation.

Jannik Sinner is not new to the idea of a late-night finish. The Italian star, who left the court heartbroken at 2.50 am after a five-setter against rival Carlos Alcaraz at the 2022 US Open, stated that he wasn’t as bothered by the timing, although he would prefer early matches.

"Honestly, I don't care so much. I'm happy to be on court. Doesn't matter what time. For sure I prefer at 11 than playing in the night," he said, "It's all part of our sport now," he said in his press conference after his third round win at the Australian Open.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, meanwhile, had similar views on the scheduling.

"That's the nature of it. You have to deal with it. What can you do? It started as a reasonable time, I would say. There's a rule in place. They didn't break any rule. The match started at 10:00. Kokkinakis made it long. Murray made it long, too." he said in his Australian Open press-conference.

The 24-year-old stated that such late night finishes are the ones that live in people’s memories forever.

"I think tennis likes these kind of matches 'cause there's a story behind, there's a great story behind this match, and it's going to be remembered," he added.