Andy Murray 'disappointed' after US Open exit to Stefanos Tsitsipas as Scot blasts Greek for 'nonsense'

Andy Murray admitted he was “really disappointed” and “frustrated” after a bad-tempered five-setter with world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas at Flushing Meadow ended in defeat for the Scot.

Andy Murray in action against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the US Open

Murray bowed out of the US Open after an epic match lasting nearly five hours that will be remembered for some extraordinary tennis from the 34-year-old along with his mounting anger at the Greek’s lengthy breaks between sets.

The 2012 winner admitted afterwards he had lost respect for Tsitsipas, and during the match could be heard complaining to supervisor Gerry Armstrong.

"What's he doing in there? It's never taken me that long to go to the toilet," he said during one of the prolonged breaks.

Afterwards, the two-time Wimbledon champion expanded on his irritation, adding: “It’s not so much leaving the court, it’s the amount of time."

Revealing that he was prepared for Tsitsipas to try every trick in the book if he was losing, Murray continued: “You can’t stop the way it affects you physically. When you're playing a brutal match like that, stopping for seven or eight minutes... you do cool down.

"It's disappointing because I feel it influenced the outcome of the match. I'm not saying I necessarily win but it had an influence on what was happening after those breaks.

"I rate him a lot. I think he's a brilliant player, great for the game. But I have zero time for that stuff, and I lost respect for him.

"If everyone else thinks it’s totally cool then maybe I'm the one being unreasonable, but I think it's nonsense. And he knows it, as well."

Murray came close to recording the biggest win of his comeback since hip surgery but after winning the first set – the first he had taken off a top-five player since 2017 – he began to experience problems with his trainers while attempting to clinch the second set in a tie-break.

Eventually going down 2-6 6-7 (7) 3-6 6-3 6-4 to the third seed, Murray appeared to find conditions slippery, instructing coach Jamie Delgado to source a spare pair of shoes after losing the tie-break.

Murray went on to take the next set to open up a 2-1 lead but Tsitsipas raised his game, going 5-0 up and taking the match to a deciding set.

When the 23-year-old incurred a time violation for disappearing off court for another break ahead of the fifth, a clearly incensed Murray reacted badly.

After dropping serve in the opening game he said something about “cheating”. He forced a break point at 1-2 but Tsitsipas countered and held his nerve towards the end.

When an exhausted Murray dropped a forehand into the net, his latest Flushing Meadow campaign came to an end.

"Overall I did well, but I'm really, really disappointed after that, frustrated, all those things. Really disappointed,” he said afterwards.

Tsitsipas denied bending the rules, insisting: “I played by the guidelines, I don’t think I broke any rules.

"I don't know how my opponent feels when I'm out there playing the match. It's not really my priority.

"As far as I'm playing by the rules and sticking to what the ATP says is fair, then the rest is fine. I have nothing against him,” the Greek finished.

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