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Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis combined to produce a five-set thriller spanning nearly six hours at the Australian Open on Thursday (January 19).
Coming off a near five-hour win over 13th seed Matteo Berrettini just two days earlier, Murray looked down and out as he fell behind two sets and a break. However, the match began to turn after the five-time Australian Open runner-up displayed breathtaking defense, making a series of near-impossible retrievals to win a point, which visibly frustrated Kokkinakis.
The contest began to turn Murray's way from that point on, but the Scot was still far off the finish line. The three-time Grand Slam winner reduced arrears by retrieving the break deficit and reducing arrears by taking the third set in a tiebreak. Murray then served out the fourth set to force a decider as the contest moved into the sixth hour.
In a tight fifth set, Murray broke late before serving out victory, living to fight another day at one of his happy hunting grounds after surviving 102 winners and 37 aces from Kokkinakis. He said after the win:
"It was unbelievable I managed to turn that around. Thanasi was serving unbelievably and hitting his forehand huge. I don't know how I managed to get through it. I did start playing better as the match went on, but yeah, I have a big heart."
The two-time Olympic gold medalist scaled a few milestones in the process as he booked a Round of 32 clash with Roberto Bautista Agut. Here's a look at five of them in no particular order:
#1 Andy Murray becomes the 1st player in Open Era to win 10 Grand Slam matches from two sets down
Andy Murray is one of the most successful players beyond the Big Three of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
However, with his win on the break of dawn against Kokkinakis, Murray streaked past Federer. The Scot now has the most two-set comebacks in Grand Slam history in the Open Era, doing so on an impressive ten occasions. In the process, he broke a tie with Federer and Todd Martin.
Murray's last two-set comeback at a Major before tonight was against Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round of the 2020 US Open.
#2 Andy Murray plays the longest match of his career
Andy Murray is no stranger to long matches during his illustrious career. However, playing his 250th Grand Slam singles match, Murray made it an occasion to remember.
While bringing up win # 198 at the Majors, Murray played the longest match of his career. His gladiatorial contest with Kokkinakis spanned just 15 minutes shy of six hours, ending at 4:05 am local time.
The Scot's previous latest finish (3:02 am) was in Washington DC in 2018, beating Marius Copil.
#3 Andy Murray becomes the 1st player to win 11 matches from two sets down
Coming back to five-set matches, Andy Murray reached new ground on Friday morning.
With his win over Kokinakkis, the Scot became the first player to win 11 five-set matches from two sets down, breaking a tie with Federer, Boris Becker and Aaron Kirkstein.
The Scot has achieved the feat thrice at Roland Garros (2010, 2011, 2016), twice at Wimbledon (2008, 2013) and four at the US Open (2008, 2011, 2015, 2020). Murray's other two-set comeback came in the Davis Cup.
Murray said of the feat:
"I now am outright the most wins coming from two-sets-to-love down, so I have done it before. I have experience of it. I just rely on that experience and drive. That fight and love for the game and competing and my respect for this event and the competition, and that is why I kept going."
#4 Murray features in the second-longest match in Australian Open history
Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis' epic contest had to be one of the longest matches at the Australian Open, but it's not the longest.
That honor goes to nine-time winner Novak Djokovic's 2012 title match against Rafael Nadal, which ended just seven minutes shy of six hours, eight minutes longer than the Murray-Kokkinakis clash.
That win marked Djokovic's first successful title defense at the Australian Open, a feat he would repeat four more times.
#5 Murray-Kokkinakis produces the second-latest finish at Australian Open
Andy Murray's five-set win over Thanasi Kokinakkis finished five minutes past 4 am local time as the Scot booked his place in the third round.
It was the latest finish at the Australian Open, behind only the Lleyton Hewitt-Marcos Baghdatis 2008 third-round clash, which ended 29 minutes later than the Murray match.
