Andy Murray could barely walk, as the exertions of two marathon matches and over 10 hours on court were written across his face and in every stiff, painful movement. As Roberto Bautista Agut raced to a 6-1 opening set in 29 minutes there seemed to be a simple answer to the question of how much else Murray had to give, after the 35-year-old came through the longest match of his career and finished at 4am against Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round.
It turned out it was only the start of the third act of Murray’s stunning exploits at the Australian Open, even though it would be a final one. The odds were always going to be stacked against Murray but an exhausted body and mind, drained further by a lack of sleep, somehow fought on with whatever strength remained. As his aching joints loosened, during the points if not in between them, Murray battled to win an 87-minute second set after coming from 6-4 down in the tiebreak to spark hope of another unbelievable recovery.
