Murray grinds down Kokkinakis in late-night epic

MELBOURNE :Former world number one Andy Murray produced one of his greatest ever comebacks to sink home hope Thanasi Kokkinakis in a titanic second-round thriller at the Australian Open in the early hours of Friday morning.

The 35-year-old Scot looked down and out against an inspired Kokkinakis as he trailed by two sets and 2-5 but displayed his trademark warrior spirit to somehow claw out a 4-6 6-7(4) 7-6(5) 6-3 7-5 victory after five hours and 45 minutes.

When Murray finally got the job done in what was the 250th and longest Grand Slam match of his career, the clock was showing 4.05am local time but a sizeable and vociferous crowd had remained glued to their seats in the Margaret Court Arena.

It was another stupendous effort from the three-time Grand Slam champion whose career has been littered by such battles and who has stubbornly refused to call it a day since having a partly metal hip inserted in 2019.

Bizarrely he will now play Roberto Bautista Agut, the man who beat him at the 2019 Australian Open, after which Murray was given an emotional on-court tribute with his career apparently over because of his crumbling hip.

Four years later, a period during which he has often struggled for form and results, Murray retains his insatiable appetite for a battle and while it felt absurd to be watching elite sport at such an hour, Murray cared not a jot.

"It's unbelievable how I managed to turn that around because Thanasi was serving unbelievable and hitting his forehand huge," world number 66 Murray, who now has won a record 11 Grand Slam matches from two sets down, said on court.

"Yeah, I have a big heart. I rely on my love and my drive and my respect for the game, that's why I kept going."

Murray, back with coach Ivan Lendl who