Murray has played all of his games in daylight, one a twilight start, while Federer has played three of his four games on the main Rod Laver Arena at night.
Murray’s team is “unhappy about the decision of tournament officials to put Federer on for his fourth consecutive night match”, says the Daily Mail, “while Murray was left to play once more in the full heat of the afternoon”.
The sad reality for Murray is that his backers are barking at a brick wall.
Broadcasting network Channel Seven has a big say in who plays in primetime matches and they want the most popular players to draw the top ratings – and Federer is as popular as it gets Down Under.
Last year a poll was taken on who Australian sports fans’ favourite athlete in any sport was and Federer, from Switzerland, was a resounding winner … for the third consecutive year.
Should Murray continue his impressive form and brush aside Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in an afternoon quarter final, he’ll get his wish of a centre court night match in the semis. His likely opponent would be the second seed Federer, who takes on seventh seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarters.
Images via Getty
