Andy Murray comebacks: Melbourne heroics break record
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The Australian Open witnessed another of the famous Andy Murray comebacks as he recovered from two sets down to win a match for a record 11th time in his extraordinary career.
Murray’s second-round victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis took him past Roger Federer, Boris Becker and Aaron Krickstein for most singles wins having trailed by two sets to love.
Here we look back at previous Andy Murray comebacks before highlighting the odds for more heroics in Melbourne.
2006 Davis Cup – def. Andy Ram 2-6 4-6 7-5 6-2 6-3
A 19-year-old Murray surprisingly dropped the first two sets to world number 662 Andy Ram of Israel in a Davis Cup tie played back in 2006. The Scot rallied, however, breaking late in the third before romping through the last two sets in the Euro African Zone Group One encounter. He and future coach Jamie Delgado lost the doubles match on the following day as Great Britain ultimately succumbed to a 3-1 defeat.
2008 Wimbledon – def. Richard Gasquet 5-7 3-6 7-6 (3) 6-2 6-4
An inspired Murray came back from the brink against Richard Gasquet to make his first Wimbledon quarter-final in 2008. Leading by two sets and a break, Gasquet double faulted at 30-40 when serving for the match, before Murray sealed the set on a tie-break with an outrageous running backhand winner. He never relinquished the momentum and went on to secure victory in front of a raucous home crowd.
2008 US Open – def. Jurgen Melzer 6-7 (5) 4-6 7-6 (5) 6-1 6-3
Just two months later, Murray repeated the trick by beating Jurgen Melzer in the third round of the US Open. Murray looked in serious trouble against the left-handed Melzer at one stage but recovered to win in three hours and 52 minutes. He went on to reach his first grand slam final, losing in straight sets to Federer.
2010 French Open – def. Richard Gasquet 4-6 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-2 6-1
Murray and Gasquet re-enacted their remarkable Wimbledon encounter in the first round of the 2010 French Open. Both men were hampered by knee problems during the match, but Murray ultimately held up better in the latter stages. His campaign would end in disappointing fashion, however, with a straight-sets defeat to Tomas Berdych in the last 16.
2011 French Open – def. Viktor Troicki 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-2 7-5
Murray defeated Serbia’s Viktor Troicki in the French Open fourth round in 2011 in a match spread over two days. He fought back from two sets down to level and had all the momentum when play was called off amid fading light. Troicki made the most of his reprieve to lead 5-2 in the fifth, before losing five games in a row as Murray progressed to the quarter-finals.
2011 US Open – def. Robin Haase 6-7 (5) 2-6 6-2 6-0 6-4
Murray entered the 2011 US Open as one of the favourites having lifted the title at Cincinnati only two weeks beforehand without dropping a set. However, he almost came unstuck in the second round against unseeded Dutchman Robin Haase – losing the first two sets before winning the next three. He went on to lose to Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals.
2013 Wimbledon – def. Fernando Verdasco 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-4 7-5
Murray’s biggest scare in his march to the 2013 Wimbledon title came in the quarter-finals against the big-hitting Fernando Verdasco. The Spanish left-hander threatened to blow Murray off the court for two sets before the Briton recovered his poise. He continued to improve thereafter and defeated world number one Novak Djokovic in the final for his second grand slam triumph.
2015 US Open – def. Adrian Mannarino 5-7 4-6 6-1 6-3 6-1
Murray enhanced his never-say-die reputation with another comeback victory at the US Open in 2015. He laboured initially against unseeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino but powered through the final three sets for the loss of just five games.
2016 French Open – def. Radek Stepanek 3-6 3-6 6-0 6-3 7-5
Czech veteran Radek Stepanek gave Murray an almighty scare in the first round of the French Open in 2016. The world number two at the time struggled against the guile of the 37-year-old before finding his feet in the latter part of the match. The victory proved to be the catalyst for Murray’s run to a first and only appearance in a French Open final, which he lost in four sets to Djokovic.
2020 US Open – def. Yoshihito Nishioka 4-6 4-6 7-6 (5) 7-6 (4) 6-4
Murray made a winning return to grand slam action at the US Open after more than a year away from the game because of hip surgery. He battled in trademark fashion having dropped the first two sets to Yoshihito Nishioka and even saved a match point in the fourth.
2023 Australian Open – def. Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6 6-7 (4) 7-6 (5) 6-3 7-5
Arguably his greatest comeback victory, a 35-year-old Murray recovered from two sets and 5-3 down to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis just two days after beating Matteo Berrettini in a five-set epic. The win over Kokkinakis was Murray’s longest professional match, lasting five hours and 45 minutes and not finishing until 4.05am.
ANDY. MURRAY. 🤯
Madness in Melbourne!@andy_murray • @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/NaHx1FkJnu
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 19, 2023
Can he do it again?
Murray now faces Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut and is the 13/5 underdog in the Australian Open betting but will pay no attention to those odds.
The match is 14/5 to go to five sets again, Murray is 8/1 to win 3-2, and either player to lose the first set and win the match is priced at 29/10.
Coral also have a #YourCall special of 50/1 for Bautista Agut to win the first two sets and lose the match. Could we soon be adding to our list of Andy Murray comebacks?
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
