Andy Murray defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round of the Australian Open in a stunning five-set comeback 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-5.
The match took five hours and 45 minutes and ended at 4:05 a.m. Friday local time in Melbourne, falling just eight minutes shy of the tournament record for longest match. The record of five hours and 53 minutes was set during the 2012 final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
Murray is ranked 66th in the world, while Kokkinakis — a 26-year-old from Australia — is unranked. Great Britain’s Murray is scheduled to take on No. 25 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in the third round on Saturday.
Bautista Agut defeated Murray at the 2019 Australian Open, and the latter’s career seemed to be over because of a hip condition following the defeat.
The second-round epic between Murray and Kokkinakis had everything, including an insane rally in the third game of the third set that saw Murray make some nearly impossible returns. He held strong though and eventually won the breakpoint to earn his first game of the set after dropping the first two.
Murray has won three Grand Slams over his 18-year pro career, with the last coming in 2016. Murray has never won the Australian Open, but made all five of his finals appearances “down under” from 2010 to 2016, losing to Roger Federer once and Djokovic four times.
