After falling driving 2-1 in the initial three sets Friday at the U.S. Open towards 18-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas encountered boos at Arthur Ashe Stadium when he exited the court for a rest room crack prior to the commence of the fourth set.
Tsitsipas has not long ago come less than fire by other players on the ATP Tour for having gain of the vague wording in the 2021 Grand Slam rulebook pertaining to lavatory breaks and improve of apparel breaks. The rule does not record a restrict for how extensive the split need to last.
Tsitsipas has been accused by other gamers, which include Andy Murray, of using this time to textual content with his father, Apostolos, who is his mentor. After falling to Tsitsipas in a five-set very first-round match that integrated one particular of these extensive breaks, Murray reported he took problem much more with the size of the crack, instead than the crack alone. In this U.S. Open, Tsitsipas’ breaks have lasted about 7-8 minutes.
His crack on Friday afternoon was a great deal shorter than some of his former types at the Open. Right after event officials escorted him into the lavatory future to the court docket, he returned to the court in fewer than four minutes. This supervision was new in previous matches, he’d been permitted to walk to the bathroom (or locker-home) on his individual.
The crack appeared to give him a large carry, nevertheless, as he took the fourth set 6-. But Tsitsipas dropped the fifth set in a remarkable tiebreaker, ending his U.S. Open operate.
Abide by Alex Coffey on Twitter @byalexcoffey.
