Murray seeks change after rain misery

ANDY MURRAY called for changes in the way tennis is run after finally coming through his rain-hit US Open fourth-round clash with Donald Young.

The match, which the fourth seed won 6-2 6-3 6-3, had originally been due to be played on Tuesday but rain washed out the entire day and only three games were possible on Wednesday as the weather again intervened.

That 15 minutes of play turned out to be the most controversial of the tournament though, with Murray, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick all demanding to see tournament referee Brian Earley after being forced to play in what they deemed unsafe conditions.

Murray believes the players do not have a big enough voice at the Grand Slams, which are run by the International Tennis Federation rather than the ATP or WTA and where commercial and television interests are at their most persuasive.

The fourth seed said: “Because we have the ATP and the ITF, and they don’t like each other very much, there’s always going to be some issues with Davis Cup, the schedule, the Grand Slams, and things like what happened [on Wednesday].

“Obviously a lot of flaws have shown up, but it would be time to say, ‘Look, this is meant to be one of the biggest matches in tennis, and it’s messed up because of the schedule’.

“It isn’t just about this tournament. It’s about all of the slams and tennis in general. There are a lot of things that need to be changed aside from just some of the scheduling here.”

Murray will meet 6ft 9in John Isner in the quarter-final after the American came through his fourth round tie yesterday by beating Gilles Simon of France 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4).

Forced to finish his delayed match with Spain’s David Ferrer on tiny Court 13, Andy Roddick enjoyed himself during a 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-3 win.

“The atmosphere was really cool,” Roddick said, after making a lap of the court to high-five fans and even throwing his racket into the crowd.

“It felt like an intimate little rock show. It was great.”

Nadal will face Roddick in the quart-finals after his 7-6 6-1 6-2 victory over Gilles Muller of Luxembourg.

In the women’s section, Serena Williams powered her way into the semi-finals with a 7-5 6-1 victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia.