Andy Murray has hit out at Ukrainian rival Sergiy Stakhovsky over the equal pay row currently engulfing tennis.
Stakhovsky is a long-standing and vocal critic of equal prize money for women in the sport. The topic has dominated headlines over the past few days following comments from former Indian Wells tournament director Raymond Moore and world No.1 Novak Djokovic.
Murray is a leading equality advocate among male players and included a pointed dig at Stakhovsky in his take on the prize money issue, saying a lot more people would watch a match at Wimbledon involving Laura Robson than the Ukrainian, the man he beat in the US Open junior final in 2004.
In a lengthy exchange on Twitter, Murray also took issue with Stakhovsky's suggestion that a law graduate from a less prestigious university cannot expect to earn the same as one from an Ivy League school -- an argument the Ukrainian appeared to align to tennis' equal pay issue.
Stakhovsky responded to Murray: "Thanks for mentioning me today. Need some attention. Although your argument fails the moment we leave UK territory."
Murray hit back: "As soon as we leave UK territory more people are watching you than Laura? Really?"
Stakhovsky, ranked 115, replied: "The venue in Kiev is ready. All you need to do is convince Laura to come."
Murray then brought up a match between the two in Davis Cup in 2006, which he won 6-3 6-2 7-5 to clinch the tie for Britain.
"I played you in a Davis Cup match in Ukraine and there must have been a thousand people there max!" said Murray.
Stakhovsky responded by questioning how many empty seats there were, to which Murray said: "How many empty seats were there Serge? I wasn't counting was focused on the getting the W (win)."
Murray then called on Stakhovsky to explain his Ivy League comments, before labelling the 30-year-old's argument "ridiculous".
Murray added: "I thought you were suggesting that someone who goes to a better university should get a better job than someone who goes to a less prestigious university but then realised that would be ridiculous!
"Or [are] you saying men's tennis is Ivy League and women's tennis is average school?"
Murray is next in action at the Miami Open on Saturday, where he will face either Borna Coric or Denis Istomin.
Press Association Sport contributed to this report