"Legendary" Andy Murray not regarded enough because of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, believes John McEnroe, hails Brit's epic win
Andy Murray's greatness is oftentimes overlooked because he has competed in an era that has seen Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, believes John McEnroe. The American further stated that Murray's epic comeback win against Thanasi Kokkinakis at the 2023 Australian Open further cements his place as one of the greatest players of the era.
Murray recovered from 4-6, 6-7(4), 2-5 down to register a stunning 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-5 victory over Kokkinakis in their second-round clash on Thursday, a match that finished at 4 am in Melbourne and lasted 5h 54 min, becoming the second longest match in Australian Open history.
With the 35-year-old recording a second consecutive five-set win that will be remembered for a long time, after a 4h 49m first-round win against 13th seed Matteo Berrettini, McEnroe was in awe of the Briton tennis great.
McEnroe opined that Murray makes tennis "shine" and that his attitude of never succumbing to the pressure and giving it his all on the court must be applauded.
"I would say to Andy Murray that you make our sport shine," John McEnroe told Eurosport after Murray's win against Kokkinakis. "The never give up, never say die mottos that you hear, the clichés, you would send them his way right now because this is about the love of the sport more than anything else."
"His desire to compete, to go out and just give what he's got."
The former world no. 1 also expressed his belief that Andy Murray's greatness, which was further cemented after Thursday's win, should be regarded a lot higher than it is despite the Big 3's legacy.
While McEnroe has doubts over Murray's ability to recover fully for his next match after two grueling battles, he hopes Murray defies the odds again, but more importantly, enjoys his momentous victory.
"This guy is one of the great players of our era that is not talked about because of what the other three top guys [Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic] have accomplished, but he's a legendary player and I think that these type of matches cement his reputation even though the likelihood of recovery is not high," McEnroe stated.
"I would hope he can enjoy the moment and hope that he can rebound to some extent."
"One of the most insane things I've seen" - John McEnroe on the Andy Murray-Thanasi Kokkinakis Australian Open match
Looking ahead, John McEnroe reiterated that aspect of recovery that will now be Andy Murray's biggest focus ahead of his third-round match against Roberto Bautista Agut. While he believes it will be a different mountain to climb for Murray, the 7-time Grand Slam singles champion hopes that Murray thoroughly revels in his achievement of winning "one of the most insane" matches ever and putting smiles on many faces.
"Those are things for tomorrow and you hope that in some way there could be some type of level of recovery but just enjoy the moment - you put a smile on everybody's face," McEnroe expressed. "It was one of the most insane things I've seen in all my years watching tennis."
McEnroe also felt that the match against Kokkinakis was Murray's greatest ever grind on the court, despite his unfortunate fitness issues over the years, lauding him for the same.
"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," the 63-year-old said.
Andy Murray recorded his 11th Grand Slam win from two-sets down, thus setting an Open Era record for most singles match wins after losing the opening two sets. The three-time Grand Slam champion broke ties with Roger Federer, Boris Becker, and Aaron Krickstein, all of whom recorded 10 such wins.