Stefanos Tsitsipas Defends Long U.S. Open Bathroom Breaks After Andy Murray Comments

Stefanos Tsitsipas is making no apologies for the lengthy bathroom breaks he took during his first two matches at the 2021 U.S. Open.

After taking a bathroom break during his first-round win over Andy Murray, the No. 3 seed was at it again Wednesday, leaving the court for eight minutes during his second-round win over Adrian Mannarino.

According to ESPN, Tsitsipas said the following after the match regarding the breaks: "If I break a rule, sure, I'm guilty. I agree; I'm not doing something right. If I'm staying within the guidelines, then what's the issue?''

Tsitsipas, who was booed by fans upon his return to the court Wednesday, added:

"I haven't done anything wrong, so I don't understand. The people love the sport; they come to watch tennis. I have nothing against them. I love the fans. But some people don't understand. That's all. They don't understand. They haven't played tennis at high level to understand how much effort and how much difficult it is to do what we are doing. Sometimes we need a short break to do what we have to do."

The timing of the break may have been what miffed fans, as it came after Tsitsipas dropped the third set. Ultimately, the Greek star prevailed in four sets, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-0.

During his first-round match against Murray, Tsitsipas did something similar, going to the bathroom after winning the fourth set. He also took a medical timeout after losing the third set.

Murray complained to the chair umpire about how long Tsitsipas took upon his return from the bathroom. The 2021 French Open finalist explained that he was changing his clothes.

Tsitsipas outlasted the Brit, 2-6, 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in a marathon match that lasted nearly five hours.

Per ESPN's D'Arcy Maine, Murray addressed the situation in the aftermath, saying: "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 influence on what was happening after those breaks."

The 2012 men's U.S. Open champion added:

"The issue is that you cannot stop the way that that affects you physically. When you're playing a brutal match like that, you know, stopping for seven, eight minutes, you do cool down. You can prepare for it mentally as much as you like, but it's the fact that it does affect you physically when you take a break that long, well, multiple times during the match.

"I think when he took the medical timeout, it was just after I had won the third set. Also in the fourth set when I had Love-30, he chose to go -- I don't know if he changed his racket or what he was doing. But, yeah, it can't be coincidence that it's happening at those moments. I don't believe [his foot] was causing him any issue at all. The match went on for another two and a bit hours after that or something. He was fine, moving great, I thought."

Technically speaking, it is difficult to say what Tsitsipas did in either of his two matches was illegal since the rule only states that players are permitted to take a bathroom break for a "reasonable" amount of time.

With that said, bathroom breaks and medical timeouts are known to be used by players as a means of halting their opponents' momentum. Whether or not that was Tsitsipas' intention, it seemed to have that type of effect on Murray and Mannarino.

Tsitsipas, who is in the third round of the U.S. Open for the second consecutive year, will face 18-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz Garfia in the third round Friday.