Thanasi Kokkinakis reveals he was all "shattered" following a heartbreaking Australian Open loss to Andy Murray when the Briton approached him in the locker room and started comforting him at 5 AM.
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If you remember well, the Australian and the former world No. 1 had that crazy match at Melbourne Park in 2023 January which lasted four hours and 45 minutes and finished at 04:05 AM. That was the longest match of the 37-year-old's career but also the third-latest in ATP history.
Early in the match, Kokkinakis was the better player and he opened a two-set lead and was also up by a break in the third set. But then, Murray turned back the clock and went on to complete a stunning 4-6 6-7 (4) 7-6 (5) 6-3 7-5 win in nearly five hours of play.
Afterward, the 28-year-old Australian looked crushed and for a good reason - he lost a thriller at his home Grand Slam after blowing a big lead.
That was a rough one. I was playing great, felt really good, two sets to love up, a break up in the third, I got nervous. He started playing super aggressive, played to all hours of the night, an incredible match. Hed just finished his ice bath, I was like, Im not recovering, because Im not going to have another match for a while, so I was sitting there shattered. He hobbled over to me, he gave me a big hug and embrace, and that was a pretty special moment," Kokkinakis said on the Tennis Brothers YouTube channel.
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Murray's admission after the win
After Kokkinakis went up by two sets and opened a 5-2 third-set lead, everything pointed toward the current world No. 87 sealing a straight-set win. But the former world No. 1 refused to quit as he managed to get the break back - force a tie-break - where he and the Australian were tied to five points apiece before he won the following two points to send the match into a fourth set.
In the fourth set, Murray saved a total of six break points across three games and broke the Australian in the sixth game to also force a decider. There, the three-time Grand Slam winner claimed the lone break of the set in the 11th game before serving out for the match in the following game.
Afterward, the 37-year-old said he thought it was "unbelievable" what he had managed to do.
"It's unbelievable how I managed to turn that around because Thanasi was serving unbelievable and hitting his forehand huge. Yeah, I have a big heart. I rely on my love and my drive and my respect for the game, that's why I kept going. Thanks for staying, but now I think we should all get off to bed," Murray said in his on-court interview.
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Also, he was asked how he felt in the longest match of his career.
"I mean, by far the longest match that I played. The conditions, that's what's going to happen. You play in cold conditions, at that time of the day, with balls like that, you're going to get long rallies, long points. I actually felt better on the court today physically than I did the other day, which is a positive thing. But, yeah, finishing at 4 isn't ideal," the Briton said in his post-match press conference.
Murray was happy with the win but not with the late finish
During and after the match, many criticized the Australian Open organizers but also the tennis authorities, with some claiming that late starts and late finishes absolutely must end. The former world No. 1 himself addressed it, highlighting it wasn't ideal and that he would also like to see a change there.
"Yeah, because I don't know who it's beneficial for. A match like that, yeah, we come here after the match, and that's what discussion is. Rather than it being like epic Murray-Kokkinakis match, it ends in a bit of a farce. Amazingly people stayed until the end. I really appreciate people doing that, creating an atmosphere for us at the end. I really appreciate that. Some people need to work the following day and everything," Murray explained at the time.
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"If my child was a ball kid for a tournament, they're coming home at 5 in the morning, as a parent, I'm snapping at that. It's not beneficial for them. It's not beneficial for the umpires, the officials. I don't think it's amazing for the fans. It's not good for the players. So, yeah, we talk about it all the time. It's been spoken about for years. When you start the night matches late and have conditions like that, these things are going to happen."
Meanwhile, Murray retired from pro tennis after the Paris Olympics and he didn't have any other meetings with Kokkinakis after the 2023 Australian Open.
