Stefanos Tsitsipas booed at US Open after taking another long toilet break



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The world number 3 angered his first-round opponent Andy Murray during their five-set journey on Monday with two long trips to the bathroom, leading the Scotsman to call Tsitsipas after the game.

In his 6-3 6-4 6-7 6-0 win over Frenchman Mannarino on Wednesday, Tsitsipas was off the field again for more than eight minutes and was taunted by sections of the crowd on his return.

Such was the length of the delay, Mannarino demanded to hit a few balls during the wait to make sure he didn’t stiffen up, which Murray said he struggled with due to Tsitsipas’ breaks.

Tsitsipas insisted that the breaks are “important” to him.

“First of all, you are carrying less weight on you with all the sweat,” he told reporters. “You feel rejuvenated, you feel fresh and you don’t have all the sweat that bothers you and comes on your face, on your fingers, all over your body. It makes you feel better.

“For me it’s important to take this break. For someone else probably not and everyone has their time. I try to be as quick as possible. Sometimes I just need a little more. time. That’s all. “

READ: Andy Murray says he ‘lost respect’ for Stefanos Tsitsipas after US Open loss
Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Adrian Mannarino in four sets to advance to the third round.

When a reporter told him he was off the pitch for more than seven minutes, Tsitsipas replied, “I would like to know, what is the rule… the rules are there to be followed, right?

“If I break a rule, of course I’m guilty. I agree, I’m not doing something right. If I’m following the guidelines, then what’s the problem?”

Tsitsipas attempted to respond to Murray’s criticism by asking a reporter how long the Scotsman took for a toilet break in his 2012 US Open final victory over Novak Djokovic in 2012, but did not get the answer he hoped for.

When a reporter told him it was less than three minutes, Tsitsipas asked, “Okay, so three more minutes makes a difference?

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” he added. “So I don’t understand. People love sports, they come to watch tennis. I have nothing against them. I love the fans.

“But some people don’t understand. That’s all. They don’t understand. They haven’t played tennis at (a) high level to understand how much effort and how difficult (y) it is to do what we do .

“Sometimes we need a short break to do what we have to do.”

Tsitsipas will now face Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz in the third round.

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