Tim Henman believes strict toilet break rules are necessary in tennis to avoid players abusing the regulations after Andy Murray was left furious at the Australian Open. Murray embarked on a foul-mouthed rant over the rules when he was refused a visit to the bathroom in the early hours of his epic marathon against Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Murray was denied a toilet break at the end of a fourth set in his gruelling five hour and 45 minute five-set victory against home favourite Kokkinakis in Melbourne after he had already used his alloted breaks.
The Scot’s Herculean fightback from two sets down will go down as one of the most extraordinary wins of his eventful career as he finally downed his opponent at 4:05am on Margaret Court Arena.
But the match – the longest in Murray’s career – has come under fire after players left the court just over two hours before sunrise at Melbourne Park. There is no protocol in place to prevent such late finishes, and Murray was particularly furious that an exception could not be made for another toilet break with the match running well into the early hours of the morning.
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“Do you know something? I respect the rules,” Murray told the umpire on court. “But it’s a joke. It is a joke and you know it as well. It’s disrespectful.
“It’s so disrespectful to the players that the tournament has us out here until three, f****** four in the morning and we aren’t allowed to go to the toilet and take a p***. It’s a joke, it’s disrespectful.”
But former British no.1 Henman has clarified the reasons behind the laws, suggesting authorities risk players taking advantage and disrupting the flow of their opponents if such stringent rulings are changed.
“As far as I’m aware, in a best-of-five set match you’re allowed two toilet breaks,’ the pundit told Eurosport. “When players have been out there for such a long time and when you are playing in hot weather and hydrating, it is difficult. But it’s fair to say that players have abused the toilet break.
“You get too much of a break in-between the match which upsets the rhythm for your opponent but also for the spectators and the audience watching on television.“It’s something that perhaps has been abused by players in the past. We’re trying to get away from these types of interruptions.”
But Henman did admit some flexibility on the rules should be looked at in special circumstances. He added: “But having said that, if it’s three o’clock in the morning and if you’ve been on court for five hours and need a bathroom break, it’s difficult to decline that.”
