Tsitsipas takes dig at Andy Murray: 'less bathroom breaks' make for 'less complaints'

While Daniil Medvedev grabbed headlines at the US Open 2021 for winning his first Grand Slam, another major talking point erupted earlier in the tournament. Former world number one Andy Murray slammed current world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas over his long bathroom breaks. The Brit accused the Greek star of 'cheating' by taking two long breaks that lasted nearly seven and eight minutes respectively.

A month after the conclusion of the US Open 2021, Tsitsipas seemingly took a cheeky dig at Murray at the Indian Wells press conference by claiming that he would take fewer bathroom breaks as the climate is dryer. The Greek star claimed that he would sweat less, which would require him to take fewer breaks to change clothes.

Stefanos Tsitsipas takes cheeky dig at Andy Murray

While speaking at the Indian Wells press conference, Stefanos Tsitsipas said, "It's very dry here. We know that when we come here the conditions are very dry. That is good for me because I guess I sweat less, which makes for less bathroom breaks, which makes for less complaints so a very good sign so far." The world number three has been given a first-round bye at Indian Wells due to his higher seeding. Tsitsipas will play in the second round against either Pedro Martinez or Roberto Marcora.

What happened between Tsitsipas and Murray at US Open 2021?

Stefanos Tsitsipas has a habit of taking long bathroom breaks in the middle of matches to change his sweaty clothes. However, this habit was not taken kindly by Andy Murray, who went to the extent of claiming that his opponent was 'cheating.' After losing in a five-set thriller to the 23-year old, Murray said at a press conference, "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."

Moreover, Murray also took to his Twitter account to mock the length of Tsitsipas' bathroom breaks. The former world number one joked that Tsitsipas takes 'twice as long' to go to the bathroom 'as it takes Jeff Bezos to fly into space."

Image: AP