Former tennis world number one Andy Murray has reached the third round at the Australian Open after a nighttime marathon match.
The 35-year-old Scot won 4: 6, 6: 7 (4: 7), 7: 6 (7: 5), 6: 3 after a 0: 2 set deficit over the Australian local hero Thanasi Kokkinakis on Friday morning (local time). , 7:5.
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.
Spain's tennis star Rafael Nadal expects a downtime of six to eight weeks after his injury in the second round.
The 36-year-old announced this in a statement on social media on Thursday.
The MRI scan revealed second-degree damage to the iliopsoas muscle, the main muscle involved in hip flexion in the groin, in his left leg.
Now the time for "sports rest and anti-inflammatory physiotherapy" has come, Nadal wrote.
Immediately after his three-set loss to USA's Mackenzie McDonald on Wednesday when he injured himself on a long step, Nadal had left his future open.
It is "tiring and frustrating" that "a large part" of his career consists of fighting back from injuries.
He must avoid a longer break because of the current hip injury, "because if not," said the 22-time Grand Slam tournament winner, "it will be difficult".
The diagnosis would not stand in the way of a start at his favorite tournament, the French Open, from May 28th to June 11th.