"This f**king sport man" - Thanasi Kokkinakis reflects on heartbreaking Australian Open loss, pays respects to 'warrior' Andy Murray

Thanasi Kokkinakis is understandably heartbroken after falling just short in an epic clash against Andy Murray to bow out of the 2023 Australian Open in front of his home fans.

The duo played the second-longest match in the tournament's history, with the former World No. 1 getting the better of the Aussie in five sets 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-5 in five hours and 45 minutes to move on to the third round of the Grand Slam.

Kokkinakis was devastated after the match and shared his feelings on social media the following day. Despite reeling from the loss, the Aussie showed respect towards Murray and mentioned that it was an honor "to share the court" with a warrior like him.

"Don’t really know what to say…. Wow, this f**king sport man. Gave it everything I had last night and fell short. You’re a warrior, Andy Murray, and an honor to share that court with you. To everyone that supports me, THANK YOU. I’ll keep working… the show goes on," Kokkinakis wrote on Instagram.

The Aussie had a two-sets and 5-2 lead on Thursday before Murray mounted arguably the greatest comeback of his career.

"I mean, by far the longest match that I played" - Andy Murray

Andy Murray at the 2023 Australian Open

Analyzing his match afterwards, Andy Murray explained that the cold conditions on the court led to longer rallies, and also commented on the slowness of the ball. He pointed out that the match was "insane" before quickly adding that he felt fine physically despite playing two back-to-back five-hour contests in Melbourne.

"I mean, by far the longest match that I played. The conditions, that's what's going to happen. You play in cold conditions, at that time of the day, with balls like that, you're going to get long rallies, long points.

"Yeah, I mean, I actually felt better on the court today physically than I did the other day, which is a positive thing," he said in his post match press conference.

The two-time Wimbledon champion admitted that throughout the match, his emotions were very up and down, and was glad to come out as the victor at the end of the day.

"Well, I mean, yeah, the match was obviously very up and down. There was frustration in there. There was tension. There was excitement, all of that stuff. Then at the end, yeah, I mean, look, it's obviously amazing to win the match, but I also want to go to bed now. It's great, great. But I want to sleep," concluded Andy Murray.