Andy Murray under fire for Stefanos Tsitsipas 'cheating' comments at US Open
Andy Murray has been criticised by a former Grand Slam champion after he questioned Stefanos Tsitsipas' lengthy bathroom break during their US Open first-round clash.
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Andy Murray has been called out for his Stefanos Tsitsipas 'cheating' accusations. The former world No.1 slammed his opponent during their blockbuster first-round clash at the US Open on Monday night, after the Greek took a prolonged bathroom break at the conclusion of the fourth set. Seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander has defended Tsitsipas as he said Murray got too "irritated" during his five-set loss to the third seed.
Murray has come under fire for accusing Tsitsipas of "cheating" during their opening round match at the US Open.
The 2012 champion lost to Tsitsipas despite racing to a 6-2 lead at the beginning of the match, and securing a two-sets-to-one advantage later in the match.
At the conclusion of the fourth set, won by Tsitsipas in emphatic fashion, the Greek took his second of two authorised bathroom breaks during the best-of-five set match.
Murray slammed his opponent when the bathroom break became prolonged, describing it as "absolute disgrace" and asking the umpire if he thought it was alright, before involving ATP Supervisor Gerry Armstrong.
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Murray continued to vent his frustration to the supervisor, who was sat court-side, throughout the fifth set.
After Tsitsipas secured a comeback five-set victory 2-6 7-6(7) 3-6 6-3 6-4, Murray shook his head following their handshake at the net, and called the bathroom break incident a "f****** joke" as he returned to his bench following his defeat.
The world No.112 continued to voice his anger in his post-match press conference, admitting he had "lost respect" for the top young player.
However, he has now landed himself in hot water after accusing the world No.3 of cheating, with tennis comentator Mats Wilander criticising the former champion's behaviour towards his opponent.
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The Eurosport pundit, himself the 1988 champion in Flushing Meadows, said Murray can't let such incidents happen.
Wilander continued: "All the top players always do something that stretches the rules, not intentionally, but they go about their business, they are in the moment.
"Nadal sometimes takes too long, Djokovic takes a few injury time outs, McEnroe was screaming, Connors did his thing - it's what champions do.
"I don’t think I broke any rules. I played by the guidelines, how everything is. Yeah, definitely something for both of us to kind of chat about and make sure."