Dominic Thiem on Stefanos Tsitsipas-Andy Murray spat: 'nice that things are heating up’

One of the biggest talking points from the first week of the US Open matches was that of former world number one Andy Murray slamming Stefanos Tsitsipas over his long bathroom breaks. Murray accused the Greek star of 'cheating' as he took several breaks, two of which lasted nearly seven and eight minutes respectively. After things got heated between the two tennis stars, 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem gave his views on the topic.

Dominic Thiem is excited 'things have heated up'

Dominic Thiem, who enjoyed the intense five-set thriller between Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas, said that he could see both players' points of view when it came to the controversy. After Tsitsipas' long bathroom breaks, Murray accused him of 'cheating' during his press conference and added that he had 'lost respect for him.' In response to the controversy, Thiem revealed that he was excited to see 'things heating up.'

Speaking to Tennis Channel, Thiem said that the game between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andy Murray was one 'hell of a match.' He added that it was great for tennis 'that things are heating up from time to time.' While the Austrian did add that he could understand Murray's point of view, he did seem to take Tsitsipas' side when it came to the controversy.

The 2020 US Open winner added that considering the brutal conditions of New York, players need to go out in a five-setter match on at least two occasions to change their pants. Since 'there's no way around that,' he insisted that he sympathizes with Tsitsipas. However, he did agree that there should be a 'time limit' because one must not take more than five minutes to change their clothes.

Andy Murray annoyed with Stefanos Tsitsipas' bathroom breaks

While speaking to the press after his five-set match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andy Murray said, "I lost respect for him. It’s nonsense. And he knows it, as well. It's just disappointing because I feel it influenced the outcome of the match. I'm not saying I necessarily win that match for sure, but it had an influence on what was happening after those breaks."