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Tributes have been paid to Andy Murray after he overcame a five-hour, 45-minute, five-set classic to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round of the Australian Open.
The five-time finalist found himself down two sets and looking down the barrel of an early exit, apparently suffering from the effects of his first round match that had gone down to the wire.
However, in typical Murray fashion, he rebounded with a series of remarkable defensive games while taking advantage of his opponent’s inability to keep his cool in decisive moments to prevail 4-6 6-7 7-6 6-3 7-5 .
The Brit rolled back the years to produce a tennis masterclass in never giving up in the early hours.
Andy Murray emerged from the wreckage of a remarkable five-hour epic at 4:05am in Melbourne
Moments of frustration interspersed the epic battle, with Murray filmed losing his cool with the referee for not allowing him to go to the bathroom despite playing in the early hours of the morning. Murray’s determination thereafter was evident, with the Briton apparently motivated by his experiences at the same tournament four years earlier, when it seemed his career was over.
Comedian Jack Whitehall led the tributes and wrote on social media: Wow. Andy Murray may have a questionable hip and twisted ankles, but he’s got a tremendous set of giblets about him. inspiring.’
Robert MacIntyre, a professional golfer, echoed Whitehall’s sentiments, calling the Briton “superhuman”.
“I tell you what, Murray is superhuman,” wrote the fellow Scot of the five-time Australian Open finalist.
Kokkinakis himself simply wrote on social networks: “This damn sport, man.”
Meanwhile, Billie Jean King headlined the tennis fraternity tributes. She praised her ‘guts and glory’.
“Congratulations to Andy Murray on winning his longest ever match at the Australian Open,” he wrote.
‘All the guts and glory in your best comeback ever!’
Murray seemed to be struggling early on to keep up with his significantly younger opponent.
At times he seemed heartbroken between changes as he struggled to stay in the game.
Piers Morgan jokingly wrote “congratulations, old man” in reference both to his relatively older years in terms of tennis and to his metal hip and other ailments that he so remarkably overcame to win another Grand Slam match.
John’s brother, Patrick McEnroe, simply wrote: Andy Murray everyone. ANDY MURRAY.’
While Geoff Thomas said Murray’s success was proof that “you should never give up”.
‘Incredible performance. Almost 6 hours on the court,” she wrote. Proof that you should never give up. Incredible on so many fronts #braveheart.’
Sportsmail’s Mike Dickson called the performance the “greatest physical effort of his career”, seemingly surpassing other mammoth efforts in the Australian heat, as well as his three Grand Slam title wins.
‘Victory at 4:05 am. What an extraordinary human being Andy Murray is,’ he wrote. ‘The greatest physical effort of his career, incredible.’
The LTA, the governing body for British tennis, congratulated the greatest player in the country’s history, writing in reference to his match-winning moment: ‘This moment. what a total hero.
Early in the epic tie, Murray had rallied from two sets down thanks in no small part to a remarkable defensive effort on serve when he was already two games down in the third set.
One observer on social media noted that the rally, in which Murray, against all odds, returned several seemingly certain winners to Kokkinakis, summed up his entire career.
‘Andy Murray’s career explained in one point. Oh my God!’ they wrote.
Others also marveled at the energetic, but also goofy nature of Murray’s victory. It was just four years ago at this very tournament that he left the court in a flood of tears, his career seemingly over due to a myriad of injuries.
“I had time to eat lunch, write 2 lists, bake 3 cakes and make 3 drinks, use the bathroom 4 times, punch the air 1,000 times and use a year of swear words in the 5 hours and 30 minutes it took Murray to win his Match. from round 2. F****** crushed him Andy!, pointed out a follower.