Australian Open: Andy Murray throws massive tantrum over a bathroom break

Tennis star Andy Murray could not stop himself from launching into a massive tantrum in front of the Australian Open crowd on Thursday. His second round match against home bet Thanasi Kokkinakis had gone past 3:00 am when he lost his temper at the umpire at the Margaret Court Arena.

Murray won the fourth set to force a decider, but he was left angered because he badly needed a bathroom break and he was apparently not allowed to go. "It's 3 f***ing o'clock in the morning, and we're not allowed to take a p***. It's so disrespectful. It's a joke," he said.

The match had been going on for over four hours at this point and Murray said that it was not reasonable for the umpire to prevent him from taking an extra toilet break. To be clear, he had already used up the number of breaks that he was officially allowed under the rules.

After 5 hours and 45 minutes, Murray eventually sealed the win with a 4-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 scoreline.

While speaking after his victory, Murray said: "I understand obviously the rules on the Tour with the toilet breaks and the bathroom breaks. But you know, it's three in the morning and I've been drinking all day. I need to go to the toilet and it's just obviously frustrating in that moment."

He agreed that players should not be allowed to circumvent rules. However, he wanted to open the conversation about making exceptions when the situation calls for an adjustment.

"You don't want people taking advantage of the rules but when you're sticking players on the court at 3-4 am then sometimes there needs to be a little bit of leeway."

The match ended past 4:00 am in Australia, and Murray also questioned the decisions being made on match scheduling. He pointed out that even the ball boys and ball girls are forced to go home in the early hours of the morning.

However, organisers insisted that the current schedule is the best possible way that they can fit all the Grand Slam matches in the number of days given. Likewise, other factors had been considered including the possibility of seeing one of the evening matches finishing early or getting cancelled for one reason or another. If that happens, they will be left with nothing on court during the evening session.