The duo engaged in a five-set tussle on the opening day at Flushing Meadows, which ended with a 2-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win for Tsitsipas. It was an intense encounter that swung from one way to another, and the emotions naturally ran high for both players.

Tsitsipas, who has taken questionable bathroom breaks in the past too, opted for one at a crucial stage of Monday’s match - just before the start of the fifth set. Murray got broken immediately after they resumed playing, which turned out to be the decisive break of the contest.

Some have even alleged Tsitsipas receives illegal coaching via text messages during these breaks. While Murray didn’t accuse him of that, he did express his anger at the length and timing of the 23-year-old’s breaks.

According to Murray, taking a long break in the middle of an intense match makes your body cool down, which in turn makes it difficult to regain your groove immediately after the resumption of play.

Tsitsipas also took a medical timeout at the end of the third set (which he lost), and Murray claimed the timing of that break was suspect too.

Andy Murray gave Stefanos Tsitsipas a commendable fight on Monday; he went toe-to-toe with him throughout but succumbed after nearly five hours of play. The Scot claimed that he was upset about the breaks because he felt they played a role in how the result turned out.

Murray ended his answer by claiming that while Tsitsipas is “great for the game”, his bathroom break antics aren’t worthy of respect.

“Not accusing Stefanos Tsitsipas of illegal coaching” - Andy Murray

Stefanos Tsitsipas had faced Alexander Zverev in the semifinals at Cincinnati last week, where the German had also complained about Tsitsipas’ bathroom breaks.

Zverev had even accused the Greek of receiving illegal coaching on his phone during the breaks. And what made matters worse was that Tsitsipas’ father-coach Apostolos was seen texting at the same time Zverev was complaining to the umpire.

While Murray made no such allegations, he repeatedly said that the long breaks affected him.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, on his part, has always maintained that the breaks are normal and that there’s nothing sinister going on behind the scenes.

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