Andy Murray evened his Australian Open match at a set apiece and stood in a corner of Margaret Court Arena with his hands on his hips, staring up into the stands, where spectators were jumping and screaming, pumping their arms and waving blue-and-white Scottish flags.
All of those fans, and Murray himself, could have been excused in that moment for thinking, “Here we go again!”
This match ended a minute shy of 3 1/2 hours, which seemed rather short and sweet when compared to Murray’s exhausting trek that took more than 10 1/2 hours earlier in the week: He beat 13th-seeded Matteo Berrettini in a five-setter in the first round on Tuesday, then eliminated Thanasi Kokkinakis in another five-setter in the second round that began on Thursday night and concluded a little after 4 a.m. on Friday.
“Today was a lot of love for Andy,” the 24th-seeded Bautista Agut said afterward. “I think maybe next round, a little bit more for me.” Not much later came Murray’s second procedure, this one to fit him with an artificial hip, and he eventually returned to the tour.
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