Defending US Open champion Andy Murray has reportedly slammed the late-night scheduling of his first round match at the event and has described its as 'not ideal'.
According to Sport24, third-seed Murray, who snapped Britain's 76-year wait for a men's Grand Slam champion when he triumphed in New York last year, raced into the second round at Flushing Meadows in just 98 minutes by defeating Frenchman Michael Llodra, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.
However, the report said that the match was the third one to be delayed after a four-hour rain suspension earlier in the day caused havoc with the schedule, following which it was played at 03:55 AM local time.
Expressing his doubts over the scheduling, Murray said that he felt that playing late at night at the first round is not ideal as it hampers the preparations of players, who need atleast two days off between matches.
The report further said that Murray's original start time of 21:00 PM had been further compromised by Argentine sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro needing over four hours to finish his opener on the same Arthur Ashe Stadium.
According to Murray, although he did not have any problems with the change of dates of the match, the fact that the match was finally scheduled to be held late in the night had changed his preparation for the game.
Murray, who played his opener 48 hours after second seed and leading title favourite Rafael Nadal had completed his first round on Monday, goes on to face Argentina's Leonardo Mayer for a place in the last 32, the report added.
