Former Wimbledon champion Andy Murray knocked out top seed Matteo Berrettini from the Australian Open after the final set ended in a tie-break.
The upset first round in Melbourne saw Murray come back with a 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-7 (7-9) 6-6 (*10-6) win over Berrettini.
Bidding to beat a top-20 player at a Grand Slam for the first time since his hip problems began in 2017, Murray won the first two sets before Berrettini leveled in a spectacular tie-break at the fourth set.
The Scot managed to claim the victory, one of his biggest in recent years, after four hours and 49 minutes of play.
Speaking on Eurosport after the match, Murray said he would feel the effects of the 10-point tiebreaker tonight and tomorrow but was “incredibly happy and proud” of himself.
“I’ve worked a lot over the past few months with my team to give myself the opportunity to play games like this against players like Matteo, and it paid off tonight,” he said.
“It feels like a long way off, and I got a little lucky at the end with the net cord. I think the tennis at the end was really good. He was serving amazing, and he’s the one of the best competitors on the circuit. I did well to pass.
“I had a few break points at the start of the third set but didn’t reach it. I felt like he was serving amazing. I made some adjustments towards the end of the fifth set , maybe I could have done it sooner?”
Murray’s victory comes after 2019, when he received a career start at Melbourne Park, when he exited in the first round a year after his first hip surgery.
After a second operation, where he received a metal hip, Murray made the decision to continue playing.
In 2016 he ranked No. 1 but now at 35, Murray is ranked No. 66.
Elsewhere, in another Great Britain win, Dan Evans picked up a four-set victory over Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis, after play was suspended due to extreme heat.
The British No. 2 had taken almost three hours to open a two-sets-to-one lead before play was halted.
He stepped up in the fourth with a break in the seventh game and served up a 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-4 victory.
