Andy Murray’s body holding up well despite his near-six hour epic as organisers defend ‘insane’ 4am finish – but it was bad news for brother Jamie, who loses in the doubles… FIVE things you might have missed from the Australian Open
- Andy Murray produced a comeback for the ages to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis
- The five hour, 45 minute match didn’t finish until after 4am in Melbourne
- Murray returned on Friday for some treatment but his body was in good shape
- He then promptly went back to bed with his next match at 7pm on Saturday
- Dan Evans will get a show court for his next match against Andrey Rublev
It was an epic day at the Australian Open with Andy Murray producing a comeback win for the ages against Thanasi Kokkinakis which ended at 4.05am.
Dan Evans added to the Brit delight thanks to a far quicker win over Jeremy Chardy, while Novak Djokovic battled through injury to overcome French qualifier Enzo Couacaud.
Sportsmail takes a look at five things you might have missed from day five in Melbourne.
Andy Murray’s body seems to have come through his classic with Kokkinakis quite well
Murray in good shape despite near six hour epic
Andy Murray was back on site late this morning for a brief bit of treatment before heading back to his hotel for a second sleep as he tries to prepare himself for his third round against Roberto Bautista Agut, scheduled for 7pm on Saturday.
He was said to have pulled up relatively well after his epic win over Thanasi Kokkinakis and was contemplating an early evening hit to keep loose.
John McEnroe was among those aghast at his performance, telling Eurosport: ‘It was insane that matches at that level are played at that time in the morning.
‘Murray, we knew he had a heart of a champion, that goes without saying, but that’s him digging deeper than I’ve ever seen him, with everything he’s been through.’
Murray wasn’t best pleased by the 4am finish and he went back to bed following treatment
Organisers defend 4am finish
Craig Tiley was forced to defend the tournament’s scheduling, which Murray branded as a ‘farce’ following his 4.05am finish.
He told Channel Nine: ‘Over the last few days we have had extreme heat, we’ve had over five breaks of rain, we’ve had cold. It’s Melbourne, but we don’t often get those conditions in such a short period of time.
‘You would expect from 7pm to 12am [the evening session] in that five-hour window, you would get two matches.’
Legend John McEnroe described the late night finishes as ‘insane’ after Murray’s epic win
Evans joins Murray in getting show court
It is not just Andy Murray who will be spending Saturday on Margaret Court Arena, the second biggest stadium at ever-growing Melbourne Park.
Dan Evans, whose progress to the third round has been somewhat overlooked due to his compatriot, will also be on there on Saturday.
His match against No 5 seed Andrey Rublev was scheduled for around 2am this morning UK time, lunchtime in Melbourne.
Dan Evans will play on Margaret Court Arena in his third round match with Andrey Rublev
Rybakina deserves more credit
Elena Rybakina, the Russian-born Kazakh, often goes unnoticed for a reigning Wimbledon champion.
She showed again why she is more than a grass court specialist by scoring an excellent third round win, 6-2 5-7 6-2 against last year’s runner-up Danielle Collins, who is something of a Melbourne specialist.
Elena Rybakina in action against Danielle Collins, a match she won in three sets on Friday
Not such good news for another Murray
Not such good news for Jamie Murray, who with new partner Michael Venus lost in the second round of the doubles, 7-6 6-4 to Gonzalo Escobar and Tomislav Brkic.
There was also defeat for Julian Cash and Henry Patten but a win for Lloyd Glasspool and his Finnish partner Harri Heliovaara.
Jamie Murray and Michael Venus went out of the doubles, losing in the second round
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