tennis
Murray after night match in third round of Australian Open
Only came through early in the morning: Andy Murray. photo
© Ng Han Guan/AP/dpa
Andy Murray needs almost six hours to advance to the next round of the Australian Open. At the end is early in the morning.
Former tennis world number one Andy Murray has reached the third round of the Australian Open after a late-night marathon match.
The 35-year-old Scot won 4: 6, 6: 7 (4: 7), 7: 6 (7: 5), 6: 3, 7: 5 against the Australian local hero Thanasi Kokkinakis after a 0: 2 set deficit. When Murray ended the match with a forehand after 5:45 hours of play, it was just after four in the morning in Melbourne. Then he let out a long whoop of joy.
Already in the first round, Murray had shown his still existing enormous fighting qualities against the former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini from Italy and also held his ground in five sets. The five-time finalist of the first Grand Slam tournament of the season meets the number 24 seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the round of 32. Most recently, Murray, who had already retired due to hip problems, was in the third round in Melbourne six years ago.