Andy Murray addresses Wimbledon conspiracy theory after Centre Court time slot derailed marathon match

As conspiracy theories go, Andy Murray’s Wimbledon stitch-up does appear to hold some water. It’s said in whispers but there’s a suggestion the Scot’s second-round clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas was always doomed to be curtailed by the 11pm curfew.

The theory goes that when ref Gerry Armstrong brought a halt to proceedings with 20 minutes of playing time still available, not only did he let the demoralised Greek off the hook but it was all part of a TV scheduling masterplan. Murray’s 2-1 lead and all of the momentum he was carrying was dissolved by Friday afternoon and his exit was confirmed with a passive five-set defeat.

Wimbledon is the only

to have a curfew but was it just a case of bad luck and unfortunate timing that the 36-year-old fell victim to it? Questions are now being asked as to why organisers insist on not starting the Centre Court day until 1.30pm as it doesn’t leave as much wriggle room for marathon matches or rain stoppages. Why not get the action going in the morning? Murray knows the answer, he also admits his request for earlier starts to his matches fell on deaf ears as it’s all down to him being the box-office evening attraction on TV.

He said: “Pre-tournament I asked not to play at that time because of potential disruption. There’s many factors that go into those sorts of decisions.

"The players shouldn’t necessarily just be able to make requests and get what they want. Wimbledon make their decisions but it’s not just what’s best for the players.

“There’s obviously other things, like TV, hospitality, those sorts of things that are factored into those decisions. I’m sure they’re weighing all of those things up to try to make the right decision for the event.

“I don’t know whether they think