GLASGOW—World number four Andy Murray insists the current schedule for top players must be changed to ease their workload after his tired victory in the Davis Cup against Hungary on Sunday.
Murray was forced to travel to Scotland to meet his Great Britain team-mates just one day after returning home from the US Open and next week he will be back on court in Asia at the Thailand Open in Bangkok.
It is the final part of a gruelling year-long schedule that has started to take its toll.
Britain had wrapped up victory over Hungary and promotion back to Europe/Africa Zone Group I of the Davis Cup on Saturday when doubles pair Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins established an unassailable 3-0 lead.
But, with a near full house expected at Braehead Arena and fans eager to see their hero, Murray decided to play in Sunday’s first dead rubber against unranked Gyorgy Balazs.
It looked an easy task for the British number one on paper but he struggled to get going while Balazs proved a useful opponent, and in the end Murray was happy to come through 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 after going a break down early in the second set.
Murray then turned his attention to the demands placed on top stars and admitted the main problem is the number of mandatory tournaments the players must compete in.
As well as the four Grand Slams and eight Masters 1000 events, players must also enter four other tournaments, while the ranking points are made up of results from 18 tournaments, so players will lose out if they play less.
Murray said: “The mandatory events is the worst thing. All you had to do originally was play in nine Masters Series and four slams, that was 13 events.
“I’m being quite open about it, some of the smaller events, because the ATP’s messed up the smaller tournaments by giving them 250 points, it doesn’t really make much sense to play in, because 250 points isn’t going to make hardly any difference.
“When we play the Masters Series and the Slams, we’re playing against the best players in the world every time. The schedule’s messed up and we need to change it.”
The issue of the schedule and a feeling of a lack of power among the players came to the fore at the US Open, and a meeting is scheduled at the Masters in Shanghai next month, where Davis Cup dates are likely to be discussed.
French Open champion Rafael Nadal hinted at a players strike in protest at a calendar which required him to play Davis Cup just four days after losing in the US Open final in New York.
Nadal’s outburst prompted International Tennis Federation chief Francesco Ricci to hit back at the Spaniard but the issue clearly won’t go away.
With British number two James Ward still suffering the effects of his dramatic win over Attila Balazs on Friday, Scot Fleming came in for the final rubber and recorded his first singles win in Davis Cup, beating Sebo Kiss 6-4 6-3 to secure a 5-0 victory for Britain.