Murray upsets Berrettini in five-set Australian Open thriller

Andy Murray may not be a Grand Slam title contender like he was during the prime of his career, but he can still produce the same kind of drama that was on display during a stretch of five Australian Open final appearances in the span of seven years.

Although another final certainly wasn’t what was at stake on Tuesday afternoon at Melbourne Park, the atmosphere seemed to suggest otherwise. In the match of the tournament so far, Murray outlasted Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(10-6) after four hours and 49 minutes of thrilling competition inside Rod Laver Arena.

The circuitous route from the first set to the last winner off the net cord was every bit of the roller-coaster ride that the scoreline indicates. Berrettini came out flat but roared back in sets three and four before putting himself within one point of victory late in the fifth. With Murray serving at 4-5, 30-40, Berrettini got a look at an easy backhand pass but dumped it in the net.

Given new life in the match, just as he has been in his career as a whole, Murray managed to force a super-tiebreaker and dominated it 10-6 to get across the finish line at long last.

“I’ll be feeling [it] this evening and tomorrow, but right now I’m just unbelievably happy–very proud of myself,” Murray said during his on-court interview. “I’ve put a lot of work into the past few months with my team here to give me the opportunity to perform on stadiums like this and in matches like this against players like Matteo, and it paid off tonight.

“I think at the end some of the tennis was really good. It felt like that playing; I don’t know what it looked like. He was serving unbelievable and he’s a brilliant competitor, as well–one of the best competitors on the tour. He always fights right to the end, so I did well to get through.”

The three-time major champion awaits either Thanasi Kokkinakis or Fabio Fognini in the round of 64.