Players could strike unless demands are met: Murray

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Players could strike unless demands are met: Murray

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For years athletes have complained about the punishing schedule they have to undertake.

20 September,2011 09:44 am

The worlds leading players are not afraid of going on strike unless officials heed their calls to improve the crammed tennis calendar as soon as possible, Andy Murray warned on Monday.For years athletes such as 10-times grand slam champion Rafa Nadal have complained about the punishing schedule they have to undertake every season, with the top players required to compete in all the four grand slams, nine Masters 1000 events, the season-ending World Tour Finals and a handful of lower-tier tournaments.Matters came to a head during the U.S. Open when bad weather forced players in the bottom half of the draw -- which featured both Nadal and Murray -- to play three singles matches in three days just to reach the semi-finals.Murray now feels that a jam-packed schedule planned by those who do not actually go out and wield their rackets day-in-and-day-out is no longer acceptable and the time has come for the players to revolt.Asked if taking strike action will be discussed when the players meet up for the Shanghai Masters next month, the British world number four told the BBC: Its a possibility. I know from speaking to some players theyre not afraid of doing that.Lets hope it doesnt come to that but Im sure the players will consider it.If we come up with a list of things we want changed, and everyone is in agreement but they dont happen, then we need to have some say in what goes on in our sport. At the moment we dont.Well sit down, talk about it with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and International Tennis Federation (ITF), see if they will come to a compromise and, if not, well go from there.We just want things to change, really small things. Two or three weeks during the year, a few less tournaments each year, which I dont think is unreasonable.