WATCH: Andy Murray's mother Judy beams with pride after his epic comeback win against Thanasi Kokkinakis at Australian Open 2023
Andy Murray's mother Judy expressed a range of emotions throughout his thrilling Australian Open second-round contest against Thanasi Kokkinakis, a match that saw many shifts in momentum. As Murray finally won after just a quarter of an hour short of six hours on court, Judy was one extremely proud mom.
Murray stormed back from 4-6, 6-7(4), 2-5 down to eventually win 7-5 in the fifth set. The overall match time of 5h 45m meant that it was the second-longest match in Australian Open history, just eight minutes short of the 2012 Australian Open final between two of Murray's greatest rivals, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
As Murray sealed the deal with a backhand winner down the line, his 69th winner of the match, he expressed great relief at first to end up on the winning side of a marathon battle, before letting out huge celebratory roars. His mother, Judy, meanwhile, seemed a bit emotional.
The victory was Andy Murray's 11th such win from two-sets-to-love down, setting an Open Era record. The Briton tennis great broke ties with Roger Federer, Boris Becker, and Aaron Krickstein, each of whom had 10 wins from two sets down. The match, which finished past 4 am in Melbourne, was also the longest of his career in terms of hours on the court.
The 35-year-old now goes on to face Roberto Bautista Agut in Friday's third-round encounter. It was after a first-round loss against Bautista Agut back at the 2019 Australian Open that Murray had indicated that he was on the verge of retirement due to a serious hip injury.
"I rely on that experience, drive, fight, my love for competing" - Andy Murray reflects on his epic win
Andy Murray called his latest comeback win, probably his greatest ever, an "unbelievable" effort to turn things around. Moments after the match, when he was asked how he found the motivation and the energy to keep going for almost six hours and fight back from being just a game away from defeat, Murray pinned it down to his love for tennis, for competing, and his experience of having made many similar comebacks.
"I don't know. It was, yeah, unbelievable that I managed to turn that round," Murray said in his on-court interview. "Thanasi was playing unbelievable. I did start playing better as the match went on. And yeah, I have a big heart.
"I rely on that experience, that drive, that fight, my love for competing, my respect for this event and this competition. That's why I kept going," he added.
With a win against Bautista Agut, Murray will also record his best result at a Grand Slam since his comeback from multiple hip surgeries in 2018. He previously reached the third round of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships and the 2022 US Open.