Phenomenal effort by the man with a metal hip: Reactions to Andy Murray’s Aus Open first round win

Andy Murray battled to his first win at the Australian Open since 2017 with an epic five-set victory over 21st seed Nikoloz Basilashvili on Tuesday.

The three-time Grand Slam champion, playing with a metal hip following career-saving surgery in 2019, wrestled with the Georgian for almost four hours before claiming his place in the second round.

The Scotsman, ranked 113 and playing as a tournament wild card, showed his trademark fighting spirit to edge home in the gripping final set and clinch a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 victory in 3 hours 52 minutes on John Cain Arena.

It comes after his tearful exit from the 2019 Melbourne event with the hip injury which raised the possibility of his imminent retirement from tennis, before he went ahead with surgery just weeks later.

“Amazing, been a tough three or four years. Put in a lot work to get back here,” a relieved Murray, 34, said on court, where he and many others he might have played his last match in 2019.

“I’ve played on this court many times and the atmosphere is incredible. This is the one where I thought potentially I played my last match. It’s amazing to be back and winning a five-set battle like that, I couldn’t…

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