Andy Murray soldiered deep into the night to conjure another extraordinary win at the Australian Open.
Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis served for victory at 5-3 in the third set of their second-round encounter on a rowdy, partisan Margaret Court Arena only for Murray to show once again that his greatest asset is a stubborn refusal to lose.
The 35-year-old, who had battled for nearly five hours to upset Matteo Berrettini on Tuesday in his best result since 2017, forced a deciding set and finally prevailed 4-6 6-7 (4) 7-6 (5) 6-3 7-5 at 4.05am.
At five hours and 45 minutes, it was the longest match of Murray's whole career and the third latest finish to a tennis match ever.
Asked how he had managed to come through the longest match of his career, Murray told Eurosport: "I don't know.
"It was unbelievable that I managed turn that around. Thanasi was serving unbelievably, hitting his forehand huge and I don’t know how I managed to get through it.
"I did start playing better as the match went on – and yes, I have a big heart."
He added: "I think now I am outright the (winner of) most matches coming back from two sets to love down, so I have done it before, I have experience of it and I just rely on that experience and that drive and that fight, and my love of the game and competing and my respect for this event and the competition.
"That's why I kept going."
American Jenson Brooksby caused the second big shock of the tournament by knocking out second seed Casper Ruud to reach the third round.
A day after Rafael Nadal limped to defeat against another American, Mackenzie McDonald, Brooksby beat Norwegian Ruud 6-3 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 for the biggest victory of his career, recovering from missing three match points in the third set.
The result means the men's event has lost its top two seeds before the third round for the first time at any grand slam since 2002.
Ruud would certainly have had higher hopes for the tournament having reached two grand slam finals last year at the French Open and US Open.
But he struggled from the start with the unorthodox style of 22-year-old Brooksby, who is named after former British racing driver Jenson Button.
He had reason to curse his luck, too, after losing the second set when a shot from Brooksby hit the tape and dribbled over the net.
Ruud then took an off-court medical timeout for an unspecified ailment and was clinging on by his fingernails at 5-2 down in the third but Brooksby was unable to serve it out, blinking at the finish line in agonising fashion.
Ruud looked like he might turn the match around when he took the tie-break, with Brooksby beginning to struggle physically, but he forged ahead again and finally clinched his fifth match point.
He raised weary arms in the air, and then said: "I was really proud of the mental resolve after the third set didn’t go my way."
Novak Djokovic eased past Enzo Couacaud 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-0 despite claiming to be badly hampered by a hamstring problem.
Djokovic took a medical timeout during the second set and appeared distinctly uncomfortable, grimacing and stretching, but breezed to victory.
Speaking to Eurosport afterwards, the 35-year-old said of the hamstring: "To be honest, it is not good at all. I will take it day to day.
"It was better last match, the feeling, than tonight, but that is all I can say and now it is up to God to help me and the physio and everyone. I hope I will be able to recover and be ready for a tough match next up."
Djokovic, who also called for a drunk spectator who was heckling him to be thrown out, came into the tournament with the injury having picked it up playing in Adelaide a fortnight ago.
He eased through his first-round match against Roberto Carballes Baena and said afterwards that his leg was improving, and there appeared to be no alarms in the first set, with Couacaud the cause for concern after rolling his ankle.
But, during the second, Djokovic called for the trainer at 4-5 and headed off court.
The Serb has a reputation for managing apparently miraculous recoveries from physical ailments, winning the title here two years ago after tearing an abdominal muscle.
It has been a hugely successful tournament so far for the American men, and Brooksby was joined in the third round by Tommy Paul, who beat Spanish 30th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2 2-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-4.
JJ Wolf eased past 23rd seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-1 6-4 6-4, while 20-year-old Ben Shelton, who is on his first ever trip outside the US, accounted for Chile's Nicolas Jarry 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-3) 7-5.
Fifth seed Andrey Rublev also advanced, defeating Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 to set up a third-round clash with Dan Evans, who kept his cool through an umpiring controversy to race past Jeremy Chardy.
Evans had battled for three and a half hours to get past Facundo Bagnis in extreme heat in the first round but needed less than two hours to wrap up a 6-4 6-4 6-1 victory over 35-year-old Chardy in much cooler conditions.
The veteran Frenchman was incensed by an incident in the seventh game of the first set when, facing break point, a ball fell out of his pocket during play, which would normally cause the point to be replayed.
But German umpire Miriam Bley did not notice until a split second after Chardy netted and awarded the point to Evans.
Chardy argued his case at length and the supervisor was called to court but the decision remained the same.
He did not hold back afterwards, saying: "It's a big mistake from the umpire. I was angry because she should stop straightaway, and she says she didn’t even see the ball.
"I don’t know what she’s doing because she doesn’t call in or out, she just called the score, and if she doesn’t watch the point, I don’t know why she’s on the chair. So I was pissed, and I was even more pissed when she didn’t tell me she made the mistake."
