Andy Murray could withdraw from Citi Open after 3am finish as he furiously hits out at organisers

Murray criticised the scheduling of his third-round match after being made to take to the court after midnight and play until gone 3am, hours before he’s due to play again

Andy Murray hit out at organisers of the Citi Open after being made to play until gone 03:00 in order to see off Marius Copil and reach the quarter-finals of the competition.

Murray was reduced to tears at the end of his three-set victory as exhaustion got the better of him, given the match started after midnight and finished at a 03:01 on Friday morning.

With Murray due to take on Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals on Friday night, his preparation has been severely hampered by the late match, and he hit out at the schedule of the Citi Open before disappearing to gain some much-needed sleep.

"Finishing matches at 3 in the morning is not good,” Murray said after his 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) win. "It's not good for the players. It's not good for anyone, I don't think, involved in the event. It's not good for fans, TV. Nobody.”

Murray is returning from 11 months out after undergoing hip surgery in January, and after being dragged through three three-set matches in a row – each of which lasted more than two-and-a-half hours – he admitted that he could “potentially” withdraw from Friday’s quarter-final with 19-year-old Australia De Minaur.

"I'm giving my view right now as someone who's just come back from a very, very long injury lay-off,” the former British No 1 added.

“I don't think I should be put in a position like that, when you're expected to come out and perform the next day. I don't think it's reasonable. And I'm disappointed with that, because I know that the weather's tricky and I know it is for the scheduling, but it's a very difficult position to be in."

Andy Murray broke down into tears after defeating Marius Copil (Getty)

Thursday’s action was delayed by rain in Washington DC, and in an effort to catch up on the schedule organisers decided to continue play under floodlights into the early hours of the morning. That meant Murray did not take to the court until midnight, and the early-morning conclusion has left the world No 832 feeling the effects of an erratic sleeping pattern.

Andy Murray roars with delight after winning a point against Marius Copil (Getty)

Asked about his condition, Murray said: “It doesn't feel great, just now.

“I don't know how you are expected to recover from that. By the time you're done with all your recovery and stuff, it's going to be 05:30, six o'clock in the morning. I'd obviously try and sleep as late as I can, but with the way your body clock is and stuff, you know, you might get a few hours' sleep.

“It's not good. And it's basically like playing two matches in a day.”

An emotional Andy Murray steps off court (AP)

Murray had to bounce back after losing the first set, in which he surged out to a 5-0 lead in the tie-break before dropping seven consecutive points. That drew an angry response from Murray as he shouted at both himself and his coaching box, but it triggered a comeback from the three-time Grand Slam winner as he won consecutive sets to clinch his place in the last-eight.

However, the effort took its toll on him as he sobbed into his towel before leaving the field in tears simply through exhaustion. "Just the emotions coming out at the end of an extremely long day," Murray added, "and a long match."