Andy Murray pulled off one of the greatest comeback wins of his career, coming from two sets down to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 at the Australian Open. It was an enthralling and energy-sapping encounter that ended at 4am local time, and remarkably goes down as Murray's longest ever match, at 5 hours and 45 minutes long.
The home favourite looked like he had too much for the Brit, but Murray continued to defy his critics by fighting back from two sets down when the round two tie looked dead and buried. This was everything we have come to love about the Scottish great. Passion, grit and determination, all backed up with a huge amount of quality. With this win, he has become the only player in history to win 10 Grand Slam matches from two sets down, a record befitting of the man.
After the five-time finalist narrowly lost the second set, it looked like he would crumble in the third. Kokkinakis was 5-3 up, and serving for the match, but Murray dug his heels in to make a fist of it. This Scottish spirit is something that has defied his career, but after all of his injury issues, few thought he still had this type of performance in his locker.
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It was 1.50am in Melbourne by the time Murray won the third set tie-break. The Australian missed a volley to give his illustrious opponent a route back into the game, and despite the early hour, they played on. This was the type of test Murray relishes, and despite looking second best for the majority, his determination put him back in contention.
In the fourth, Murray saved two break points to hold his serve and then aggressively attacked the Kokkinakis serve to land a crucial break from nowhere. He continued his strong play to serve for the set, where he saved two break points, before levelling the match.
It was inspired tennis by Britain’s greatest ever player. Before today, on nine occasions in his career he had come from two sets down to win in five but we’d ticked past 3am, and this had now turned into a battle of attrition. They’d been on court for 4hrs and 45mins as the fifth and final set began, yet Murray wasn’t allowed to go to the toilet again, given he’d already used his toilet break. “It's so disrespectful that the tournament has us out here until 3am and we can't even go for a piss,” he said. A bit of common sense might have been useful here, but even that couldn't stop a man on a mission.
The ‘nothing good comes after 2am’ mantra, clearly didn’t ring true for Murray here. He came to life as the night wore on. At 3-3 in the decider, Kokkinakis saved three break points in sensational fashion as his aggression peaked at the right time. They continued to hold serve as the home favourite went 5-4, and Murray served to stay in the match.
He managed it. Then dragged himself, like a stiff robot, back to the baseline. He earned himself two break points, but Kokkinakis’ brutal serve saved them. Then another came and went. Murray went after his opponent to earn a fourth break point. This time he nailed it. Then match point arrived on his serve.
After 5 hours and 45 minutes, Murray hit a perfect backhand down the line to seal one of his most incredible wins. His longest win. Definitely. His most unlikely win? Perhaps. After the heartache of the last four years, his scream to the crowd after the win felt like a release.
Stiff as a rock, and desperate for the toilet - Murray has proved himself to be nothing short of superhuman. Just how on earth does he keep on doing it after all these years, and all those operations. Half man, half robot, he marches on into the third round - with more heart than any other player at the tournament.
Elsewhere, Novak Djokovic came through a hamstring injury worry to make it into the third round, on a day when a couple of potential challengers were knocked out. The nine-time champion dropped a set against qualifier Enzo Couacaud of France, but came through 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-0. Hopefully he will be fighting fit to partake in the next round, as he looks to continue his dominance Down Under.
Second seed Casper Ruud may have reached two Grand Slam finals last year, but he was dumped out by Jenson Brooks. The Norwegian follows Rafa Nadal out of the competition after a 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2 defeat to American Brooksby. In the same part of the draw, eighth seed Taylor Fritz also lost 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-2) , 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2 to Australian wildcard Alexei Popyrin.
In the women’s game, Ons Jabeur became the 7th player out of 10 to get knocked out having featured in the new Netflix series Break Point, as the second seed collapsed in tears having been beaten 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 by Marketa Vondrousova.
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