McEnroe believes that Murray would still be in Australian Open if Kokkinakis match was shorter

John McEnroe is certain that Andy Murray would have beaten Roberto Bautista Agut had his match against Kokkinakis been shorter or ended sooner.

McEnroe came out against the appaling scheduling that put the winner of the Murray - Kokkinakis match at a huge disadvantage in the next round. It proved true as Murray lacked enough energy to compete properly against Bautista Agut. He won a set and had a 2-0 lead in the 4th sed but faltered to lose in four.

McEnroe is certain it would have gone differently had his previous match been shorter:

“The sad part is that obviously the finish time of the previous match affected his performance in the third round and the door was open for him to make a run. It seems like he's fit enough and the body is holding up well enough that, with a little bit of luck, he could have gone a lot further. Bautista Agut is a seasoned pro, he's a very good player. But obviously if the two of them play at their top level, Murray's going to win.”

McEnroe added that it must be really hard mentally to deal with so many unlucky breaks:

“It's got to be extremely hard mentally for him to put in that much effort and sort of get thrown off because he played at four in the morning. Having said that, if he had beat Kokkinakis in straight sets, we wouldn't be discussing this and I believe the outcome of his match with Bautista Agut would have been different. That’s the way tennis works."

And more:

"It's harsh when you're out there on your own. So he's got to figure out a way to get himself in matches where he can finish guys off quicker. Both matches took its toll and that's a big ask for anyone at any age to be able to rebound consistently and go all the way or deep into a tournament.“I think he certainly has the respect of everyone that's around the sport, the players. But he's got to figure out a way to tighten things up.”