Andy Murray Is the Australian Open's Unexpected Marathon Man

This marks the fourth anniversary of Andy Murray's quasi-retirement. His cheerful exit from the 2019 Australian Open, when the tournament went so far as to produce a farewell video, well…how silly that looks today. Murray never formally retired. He underwent a hip resurfacing procedure and struggled to return. But now, four years later, he’s still going. He won a first round match that spanned nearly five hours.

He turned in one of the more enthralling matches of his career, beating Australian Thanasi Kokkanakis 4-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 7-5. The whole thing took nearly six hours and ended around 4am local time. After his first-round win over Matteo Berrettini, Murray, uncharacteristically, said he was proud of himself and deserved to win. You could only imagine his reflections on this follow-up victory. He won this match playing usual Murray tennis. Playing chess to his opponent’s checkers. This was Murray at his best strategically and his best—at least in recent years—physically.

It is still hard to see Murray going much further in this tournament. Kokkinakis, we know, is obviously a very talented player, but he's unseeded for a reason. He’s sporadic. You’re never sure what you’re going to get from him when he’s under pressure. And you mention that Murray looked great physically, but that’s all with a caveat. You're watching the end of this nearly six hour match, and Andy Murray looks like he’s moving incredibly…for a guy with a metal hip.

And so, it’s hard to believe that like one round after this… two rounds after this… three rounds after this that his game is going to be able to hold up, especially against more reliable opponents. So I don't think anybody is expecting him to go on and win this tournament. But Andy Murray is a fan favorite. He’s a good guy. He’s a fun tennis player to watch who has given us, as both fans and media, a lot over the course of his long career.

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