Australian Open: Andy Murray holds off Matteo Berrettini to win five-set epic in Melbourne | Tennis News

Andy Murray held off a Matteo Berrettini fightback to win a special five-set thriller in the opening round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.

The five-time runner-up in Melbourne saved a match point in a rollercoaster of a ride on Rod Laver Arena before sealing a famous 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (10-6) victory over the 13th seed.

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 opening two sets before Berrettini fought back to level in a dramatic fourth-set tie-break.

The Italian 13th seed created a match point in the 10th game of the deciding set but dumped a simple backhand into the net with the court wide open, allowing Murray to hold on and force a deciding tie-break.

A gruelling first point won by the Scot set the tone and Murray, who moved superbly, was able to celebrate a stunning win after four hours and 49 minutes.

“I’ll be feeling this this evening and tomorrow but right now I’m just unbelievably happy and very proud of myself,” said the 35-year-old.

“I’ve put a lot of work into the last three months with my team, to give me the opportunity to perform in stadiums like this and matches like this and it paid off tonight.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever played one of those 10-point tie-breakers and it’s a bit different. He came back really strong and I was a bit lucky at the end with the net-cord.

“He was serving unbelievably and he’s a brilliant competitor as well, he always fights right to the end. I did well to get through.”

While such thrilling contests were a more common occurrence in the latter stages of Murray’s peak years, this will surely mean almost as much four years after the tearful press conference at Melbourne Park that seemed to herald the end of his career.

Dan Evans completed a four-set victory over Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis after play had been suspended because of extreme heat.

With the temperature into the mid-30s, the tournament’s heat stress scale, which also takes into account humidity and wind speed, hit five just after 2pm, meaning play was stopped on the outside courts.

The British No 2 had taken nearly three hours to open up 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 out a 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-4 victory.

The temperature was already above 30 degrees when play began, with Evans looking to repeat the result from the first round in 2017, when he defeated Bagnis in straight sets before making it to the fourth round.

The 32-year-old Argentinian is ranked 91st and has never won a main-draw match in Melbourne so on paper this was a kind draw but Evans made a poor start, dropping serve in his opening game.

He fought back well with a run of four games in a row but Bagnis was proving a dogged competitor and, although Evans recovered from 1-4 in the second set, a volley dumped into the tramlines allowed the Argentinian to level.

It was nip and tuck in the third before Evans gained the advantage with a break for 4-3, and he took the set before organisers announced the heat stress scale had hit five, the mark where continuing play outside is deemed dangerous.

Play finally resumed at 5pm, and Evans sealed the win after three hours and 29 minutes to set up a second-round clash with veteran Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.