Andy Murray rolled back the years to defeat 13th seed Matteo Berrettini in a five-set epic at the Australian Open, on a sweltering day that saw play suspended for three hours on most courts.
There was controversy off the court meanwhile on day two after organisers banned Russian and Belarusian flags at Melbourne Park.
Novak Djokovic is set to make his eagerly anticipated return to the Grand Slam later following his ban and deportation last year.
But the day looked set to belong to the 35-year-old Murray, after the Briton saved match point to defeat Italy’s Berrettini 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (7/9), 7-6 (10/6) in 4hrs 49mins under a closed roof on Rod Laver Arena due to the extreme heat.
“I will be feeling this this evening and tomorrow,” the former world number one, who plays with a metal hip after career-saving surgery, said.
“But right now unbelievably happy and proud of myself.
“I’ve put a lot of work into the last few months with my team to give me this opportunity to perform in stadiums like this, in matches like this and against players like Matteo — and it paid off tonight.”
“I did well to get through,” added the three-time major winner, who faces either Fabio Fognini or Thanasi Kokkinakis in round two.
Also in the men’s draw, Russia’s fifth seed Andrey Rublev ended the tournament of 2020 finalist Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 Fahrenheit) temperatures.
