Andy Murray beats Thanasi Kokkinakis in near-six-hour Australian Open epic

As Thanasi Kokkinakis stepped up to the baseline with a two-set lead to serve out one of the best performances of his life, he would have been confident against most other players in the world. But almost nobody battles like Andy Murray when in trouble. He furiously scours for solutions, he fights with whatever he has and he has so often found a way through.

For his part, Kokkinakis was buoyed by the occasion. The 26-year-old Australian began the match attempting to obliterate every single return he could put a racket on. Some flew far long and others blew past Murray before he could even put his feet in place, but his intent was clear. He was going to take the initiative as quickly as possible.

Across the net, the Scot was flat. He looked a half step slower, his groundstrokes far less potent. Kokkinakis breezed through the opening set and he continued to serve spectacularly as he established a two-set lead.

Despite the growing deficit, the five-time finalist here readied himself for a fight. After the Australian seethed following a time violation warning while leading 2-0 in the third set, Murray forced a break point and then pulled off a vintage steal, throwing up four defensive lobs and retrieving four overheads from Kokkinakis before eventually forcing an error to break back.

The home favourite served for the match at 5-3 in the third set, but Murray pulled him back again. This time, Murray had finally managed to impose himself from inside the baseline, forcing the younger man on to the defence as he dragged himself to set point in the tie-break. At 5-6, Kokkinakis gagged on a desperately easy overhead, sending it far wide and pulling Murray back into the match.

Recent history suggested that it was not the case. In 2020, after a five-set battle with Yoshihito Nishioka at the US Open, Murray was eviscerated by Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round. Last year in Melbourne, Murray followed up his five-set win over Nikoloz Basilashvili, the 21st seed, by being dismantled in straight sets by the world No 120, Taro Daniel, the worst grand slam loss of his career. This time, he was ready. Even after spending 10 hours, 34 minutes on the court across two matches, he stood tall and triumphed.

Four years ago, Murray departed his 2019 five-set first-round match against Roberto Bautista Agut believing it could have marked the end of his career as he struggled to find a solution to his chronic hip injury. On Saturday, they will face each other again for a place in the fourth round.