Andy Murray calls for change after late US Open finish: ‘It’s a total mess’

Zheng Qinwen sealed victory over Donna Vekic at 2.15am local time in the latest finish to a women’s match in the history of the tournament

Zheng Qinwen and Donna Vekic concluded their match after 2am (Getty Images)

Andy Murray has hit out at the scheduling of the US Open after the latest finish to a women’s match in history at Flushing Meadows.

Zheng Qinwen completed a 7-6(2) 4-6 6-2 victory over Donna Vekic at 2.15am local time, two minutes later than a clash between female competitors had previously finished at the year’s final grand slam.

Late finishes at the majors have been a recurring theme across this year, with similarly tardy endings at the Australian Open and French Open also criticised.

And Murray, who concluded his playing career after the Olympics, has urged organisers to “sort it out”.

“The tennis scheduling situation is a total mess,” the Scot said on X, formerly Twitter. “It looks so amateurish having matches going on at 2, 3, 4am. Sort it out.”

Men’s matches, contested over five sets, often extend deep into the night in New York, with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s quarter-final meeting in 2022 concluding not long before 3am.

The round of 16 encounter between Zheng and Vekic was a rematch of the Paris 2024 final, with the Chinese player again coming out on top to keep her hopes of adding a first grand slam title to her Olympic gold alive.

“It’s always nice to play in the night session because I’m used to it,” said Zheng. “It’s the first time I’ve played here in New York at two in the morning. It’s unbelievable. Thanks to the fans that aren’t sleeping tonight, supporting me here.

“She’s really tough to play on hard courts, she put a lot of pressure on me. At Roland Garros I was in control. But today she hit really aggressive. It was tough for me to play against her. It was a really nice victory for me.”

The seventh seed faces Aryna Sabalenka in the last eight.