19 January 2023 , 17:05
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Andy Murray produced another Australian Open epic as he fought back from two sets down to see off Thanasi Kokkinakis in Melbourne.
The Scot delivered a performance that defied his age and injury problems to emerge victorious in a thrilling second-round contest that lasted five hours and 45 minutes, and went on past 4am.
That made it the longest match of his incredible career as he continues his quest for an unlikely first Australian Open title, finally winning 4-6, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 7-5.
Murray performed heroically to beat Matteo Berrettini in the opening round at Melbourne Park, but was struggling to repeat the magic early on against Australian and home favourite Kokkinakis.
Kokkinakis, Nick Kyrgios' doubles partner, took the first set 6-4 before Murray produced a more spirited display in the second. However, he failed to take the tie-break, going down 7-4.
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It was a huge uphill task from there on in, and the writing looked on the wall as he got off to the worst possible start by getting broken early in the third set as Kokkinakis raced into a 2-0 lead.
Murray fought back like he always does to break serve before holding his own but it didn't take long again for Kokkinakis to stamp his authority on the set.
The 26-year-old Australian raced into 5-2 lead and it appeared Murray's campaign was on the brink, but once again he didn't give up.
Murray held to love in his service game before sensationally breaking Kokkinakis' serve after going on the attack. Fans of the three-time Wimbledon champion were starting to believe he might make the impossible possible again as he levelled proceedings at 5-5.
Andy Murray shows his dejection early on during the thrilling encounter (Getty Images)Kokkinakis bravely held to head into a 6-5 lead after a big miss from Murray, meaning the pressure was on the Brit to stay in this contest - but of course he kept his composure, winning to love.
It was time for the tie-break which Murray edged 7-6 to incredibly keep the contest alive. Many were starting to think the match would finish for the night with it going well into the early hours of Friday morning, but somehow play continued.
And Murray - remember he is at the age of 35 and is essentially playing with a metal hip - created more headlines by storming to the fourth set winning 6-3.
The fifth set was another topsy-turvy affair as both players held their serves to 5-5 before Murray broke in stunning fashion to serve for the match.
Kokkinakis produced a brilliant display but struggled to fend off Murray's comeback (Getty Images)And the Scot did just that, adding to his legend with the incredible victory in a match that started at 10:20pm and finished at 4:05am.
Asked afterwards how he got through it, Murray said: "I don't know. Unbelievable that I managed to turn that round. Thanasi was serving unbelievable. I don't know how I managed to get through it. Yeah, I have a big heart."
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His previous longest match was the victory over Juan Martin Del Potro in the 2016 Davis Cup, which lasted five hours and seven minutes.
Five-time finalist Murray has now won his last 20 matches against players in their home Grand Slams and has still to lose to an Aussie here in five meetings in Melbourne.