Australian Open: Andy Murray qualifies after 5hrs 45mins

At the end of the night, at the end of the day, world number 66 Andy Murray qualified for the third round of the Australian Open with a 4-6 6-7 (4/7) win over Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis (159th). 7-6 (7/5) 6-3, 7-5 after 5.45 hours of play.

This is the final match Djokovic won against Nadal at the Australian Open in 2012 in 5 hours and 53 minutes.

It was 4:06 a.m. Friday when the two players hugged each other. It is the third most recent matchup in history, after Zverev-Brooksby in Acapulco in 2022 (4:54 a.m.) and Hewitt-Baghtadis at the Australian Open in 2008 (4:34 a.m.).

“It’s unbelievable, he served very well, but I played better and better, yes, I have a big heart”, began the Scotsman, who already took 4h49 to beat Italian Matteo Berettini (14th) in five sets. A match point in the first round.

“Going two sets up, I’ve already done it! So I relied on my experience, my love for the game and the competition,” explained the Briton, whose previous longest match had lasted “only” 5:07.

Kokkinakis led 5-2 in the third set and served out 5-3 in the tie-break to prevent Murray coming back to win the set.

Murray then leveled two sets and pushed his opponent to a deciding set where, with a huge forehand winner, he took a 6-5 lead and served out for the match in front of a thin but rabid crowd.

The five-time finalist in Melbourne (2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016) then gave himself two match points to finish in the first match. On Saturday, he faces Spaniard Roberto Bautista (25th) for a place in the round of 16.