Murray Condemns Grunting

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 14th March 2013

Murray Condemns Grunting

epa03621163 Andy Murray of Great Britain hits a return against Lu Yen-hsun from Taiwan in first set during the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 12 March 2013. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

Andy Murray set the example for many players, both on the ATP World Tour and WTA, to follow as he officially complained to umpire Steve Ullrich about the excessive grunting coming from Argentine opponent Carlos Berlocq during the pair’s BNP Paribas Open third round match at Indian Wells.

Up to this point players have been reluctant to exercise their option and make a complaint to the chair official when they feel the noise emanated from an opponent begins to affect their performance – more than 20 years has elapsed since Frenchwoman Nathalie Tauziat complained to an umpire at Wimbledon about the grunting of Monica Seles and so began a series of debates on etiquette in women’s tennis.

Nine years later Jennifer Capriati also complained about Seles during the Acura Classic quarterfinals in Carlsbad. California but Murray is the first male player to make a stance.

Murray believed Ullrich would have been right to intervene and call 85th ranked Berlocq for a hindrance, feeling as if the guttural noises from the Argentinian were affecting his concentration. “This is ridiculous, I’ve never heard a sound like it on the men’s tour,”

Eventually Murray prevailed 7-6 6-4 in an hour and 55 minutes confrontation but said “The grunting was extremely, extremely loud, more than what I have experienced from any other player on the tour.

“It’s like sometimes silence and then it comes out of nowhere. It’s a bit of a shock. That’s what I don’t understand. To go from nothing to the loudest grunt you can do. It makes no sense. When I have been on the court or off it, it’s never been something I have found to be really that off-putting.”

Berlocq instigated a bad feeling between the two players when he complained to Ullrich about the amount of times Murray was taking between points.

Murray retorted: “If it’s going to be suggested that I am using gamesmanship by taking too long, then you can’t be making noises like that on the court. I haven’t experienced it like that before.”

Afterwards Murray summarized: ““It wasn’t the prettiest match but I was pleased to get through.

“The ball is bouncing extremely high, it was very hot in the 90s and court was very warm at the start of the match. I was timing it poorly and once it cooled down I started to find my timing. That’s one of the challenges of playing in the desert. It does get much, much cooler when the sun goes down. I enjoyed the conditions when I was younger here but in the last couple of years I really struggled.”