Hamish Blair/EPA, via Shutterstock
MELBOURNE, Australia — With the end in sight, the capacity crowd inside Melbourne Arena rose to its feet. Andy Murray soaked it in, and then began to let it out.
As the clock struck the four-hour mark, Murray’s time was finally up, trailing Roberto Bautista Agut by 1-5 in the fifth set of their first round Australian Open match on Monday evening.
Murray had battled valiantly to force a final frame, coming back from losing the first two sets to level the match. He had looked like he might take command of the fifth set as well before Bautista Agut reeled off five straight games, putting a comeback out of reach.