MELBOURNE, Jan 15, 2008 - Australian Open organisers have introduced a curfew preventing matches from beginning after 11pm following complaints from players about them ending in the early hours of the morning. The deadline comes after a men's match last year ended at 3:34am -- reportedly the latest finish in Grand Slam history -- because the players were forced to take to the court at 11:45pm. Tournament director Craig Tiley said the move to curtail graveyard finishes came in response to feedback from players. He said the policy would be flexible on Melbourne Park's show courts but would be enforced on the outside courts unless there was a severe scheduling backlog caused by extreme weather. "Basically what we've instituted is an 11pm curfew time, meaning that we don't have any intention of putting a match on after 11," Tiley told reporters, saying it would improve conditions for players, tournament staff and fans. He said referees had the discretion to ignore the policy in the event of a scheduling pile-up. "If we're travelling on schedule -- and the schedule means the whole day, not just that match -- then the message we want to send is, 'Yes, we have the 11pm curfew but it's still the referee's discretion'."
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