Players have called for Madrid to reexamine its scheduling policy after Andy Murray and Phillip Kohlschreiber played until 3 a.m. in their second-round match.
The pair had just met in a rain-delayed Monday final in Munich and took the court in even more unusual circumstances in Madrid, starting at 1:12 a.m. following a day in which four of the first five matches scheduled on the stadium court went three sets. Murray and Kohlschreiber also went the distance, with Murray winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-0.
"Well, it was very difficult. I think me and Philipp both were quite frustrated on the court. I wouldn't say the level of tennis was particularly good or that it was a very entertaining match," Murray said following his third-round win. "That's what happens in those circumstances. You aren't going to get guys playing their best tennis when you're on court at 3:00 in the morning. Yeah, you kind of go on court frustrated, and then obviously if something doesn't go your way you get quite frustrated. Like I said, I think both of us at different times in the match obviously when things aren't going your way, it's easy to get down on yourself."
Murray said the players were not spoken to by officials till about midnight, and agreed that the match should have been moved to another court. "That probably would've made good sense, yeah," he said.
The tournament usually schedules six matches on the stadium court, starting with two women's matches at 11:00 a.m. and two night matches from 8:30 p.m. onwards.
Maria Sharapova noted that WTA players also had problems with the timing of their matches. “The schedule for the women is not very forgiving at this tournament, and you kind of know that's to be expected at this event,” she said.
Nadal, who also played beyond 3 a.m. this year in Rio, did not criticize the original scheduling. “The schedule yesterday was unbelievable late because all the matches have been unbelievable long,” said the Spaniard, the only player to compete a straight-sets victory on the stadium court that day. "The matches start at 11:00. You cannot start at 9:00 in the morning a tournament like this one. Yesterday the schedule was perfect. Very unlucky and unusual day. It's a different story than what happened to me in Rio. They have full options to change things. They didn't make that change."
However, Nadal did also say that the players should not have been put on court at that time once the schedule had gone long, adding, "It's not right to start the match at 1:00 in the morning. It's completely bad news for the players and for the crowd and everybody."
ATP CEO Chris Kermode told the *Daily Mail* that the tour would look at the issue. "The scheduling issues in Madrid were unfortunate, with players going on court past 1 a.m. at a disadvantage for the following day’s matches," he said. "It is critical that the interests of both players and tournaments are protected in a balanced manner on the tour moving forward. While such instances are rare, we will look at reducing the risk of similar instances occurring in the future."
Murray would like a rule that prevents players from starting their matches beyond a set time, and would prefer that time to be scientifically determined by speaking to “the right people involved and speak to doctors and people that understand the body and how it works for athletes and say, ‘Look, it's actually not possible to compete at your peak condition past whatever time it is,’ and then make a decision based on that, rather than just saying, ‘Oh, you know, midnight or 11:00 [pm].’”
Murray went on to win the Masters tournament.