Andy Murray has done the seemingly impossible yet again as he came back from two sets down to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis and progress to the third round of the Australian Open, breaking not one but two records in the process.
After already putting on a fairly herculean display in the opening round of the tournament, playing for nearly five hours, many were worried that he might have emptied the tank early doors. Not so, as he ended up taking this match even further, battling for nearly six whole hours — his longest game ever.
As if that wasn’t staggering enough, in addition to playing the third-longest match in tennis history, he also broke the record for the most singles games won from two sets down, surpassing the likes of Roger Federer, Boris Becker and Aaron Krickstein. Madness.
The epic battle lasted for a total of five hours and 45 minutes and he stayed resilient throughout, winning some of the most ridiculous points we’ve ever seen from him. The Scot really is super-human at times.
Despite Kokkinakis making a staggering start and looking like he was going to cruise to victory, the 35-year-old somehow managed to keep a foothold in the tie.
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The Aussie native pushed the former world number one to the very brink and played more than his part in several relentless rallies, with each player showcasing some serious accuracy when it came to playing down the line and well-placed drop shots, but Murray still made sure to capitalise on every little slip-up.
The five-time Australian Open runner-up went on to win the match 4-6 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 7-5, with the final point being played at 4:05am.
Although he was obviously relieved to still be in the fight after hours of breath-taking tennis, he did also show his usual emotions while out on the court.
Undoubtedly the most warranted moment of frustration was when he asked the officials if he could go to the toilet after he had been already been playing for several hours and was told he was not allowed.
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Speaking to the umpire during the break, he said: “I respect the rules [but] it’s so disrespectful that the tournament has us out here until 3, 4 o’clock in the f***ing morning and we’re not allowed to go and take a piss. It’s a joke… it’s disrespectful to you, to the ball children, to the players — ridiculous”.
I mean, you’d be fuming, wouldn’t you?
Andy Murray into a fifth set in Melbourne (where it’s 3 AM) … asked for a bathroom break, was told it wasn’t an option and he vented. Oh yes, he vented as he should. pic.twitter.com/8dmrFVAJXT
Nevertheless, not only did he make it to the end but he managed to notch another win on what has been a long and winding road to a comeback we all hope ends with another Grand Slam title — if not in Australia then sometime soon.
It’s worth reminding that there aren’t many players who would keep going after so many setbacks and a metal hip following two major joint ‘resurfacing’ surgeries, let alone still be joking at the end of the day.
All that being said, overcoming injuries, countless impressive points and two record-breaking achievements aside, this was our favourite moment of the entire ordeal.
Manchester City reveal trailer for upcoming Together: 4-In-A-Row documentary
Danny Jones
Man City have revealed the first trailer for their new Together: 4-In-A-Row documentary, charting the course of their record-breaking four consecutive Premier League titles.
The follow-up to the Together: Treble Winners series, City‘s highly-anticipated documentary dropped earlier this year following their historic 2023/23 season, the movie will follow the same concept and relive the Manchester club’s latest unprecedented feat from 20/21 onwards.
While the previous TV outing was picked up by Netflix, the latest instalment is set to arrive at the end of this month exclusively on CITY+.
You can see the trailer for Together: 4-In-A-Row down below:
The new Man City documentary will feature exclusive interviews with manager extraordinaire, Pep Guardiola, Ballon d’Or winner and Champions League-winning goalscorer Rodri, club captain Kyle Walker and many more.
There will also be footage including soon-to-depart Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain, as well as the City Football Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Ferran Soriano.
Swapping the series format for a feature-length film this time, this is arguably CITY+‘s biggest release to date, with the content subscription service typically offering full match replays, youth academy coverage, as well as smaller documentaries and podcasts.
The streaming service (accessible via the website, Man City app and smart TVs) was only started back in 2024 but now four years later, rather fittingly, it’s set to document the most important years in the club’s history.
We’ve seen multiple Man City docs in recent years – their 2018 All Or Nothing Amazon Prime Video mini-series being the first – but the launch of the Together franchise back in April has helped put City Studios, on the map.
The in-house entertainment arm, first set up in 2022, has even more ambitious plans for the coming years, with a huge deal to create multiple big-budget productions in collaboration with Sony.
Fans are getting even more behind-the-scenes content soon.
Gavin Johnson, Media Director at CFG, said of the trailer reveal: “We’re delighted to announce the release of our latest offering in the ‘Together’ collection.
“Produced once again by our award-winning in-house production and creative hub, City Studios, the documentary film offers our fans a true insight into the team and how they achieved the historic four-in-a-row success.”
Set to be released at 6pm UK time on 20 November, Together: 4-In-A-Row will only be able to watch via the CITY+ platform.
So, if you’re a Blue who wants to relive the last four years of non-stop silverware, you can enjoy a 30-day free trial, after which CITY+ is just £4.99 a month. An annual subscription can be purchased for £34.99 a year or for £30 with an Official Cityzens membership/season ticket.
Man United legend Eric Cantona stuns Manchester artists with surprise visit to GRIT Studios
Danny Jones
Artists working at a Manchester studio were left speechless by a recent surprise visit from none other than Man United legend Eric Cantona.
The former United forward’s love for the city has never waned no matter how many years have gone by and as a lover of all things art, be it music, painting, acting or what he did with a football, he never fails to engage with local culture whenever he’s here.
He may not be based here anymore but the Frenchman – who knows a thing or two about art given his past acting jobs, newfound music career and previous showcases – still pays plenty of visits to 0161, including a recent unannounced one.
Cantona was back in the city centre this week to pay GRIT Studios resident Michael Browne, the artist who he collaborated with to create his National Football Museum exhibition last year, but the one thing Browne didn’t do was let the other people working in their city centre location he was coming.
Credit: GRIT Studios Manchester (supplied)
To be fair, anyone would double-take if they saw Eric Cantona walk into a room, so this was quite a memorable occasion for the unsuspecting artists.
After working on 2023’s From Moss Side to Marseille with Browne, the 58-year-old has been reimmersing himself in the world of Manchester art and there aren’t many places that epitomise that more than GRIT, who are based in Stockport with a second studio at Great Northern Warehouse.
Landing in Manchester from Paris, Cantona arrived in the late morning and ended up staying for over an hour, taking time to meet a number of artists and tour the space with co-founder John Macaulay.
Clearly impressed with their work and genuinely enthused by the sense of community within the local grassroots art scene, it was a special visit for everyone involved.
John, a die-hard Man United fan who has seen the Red Devils play in 25 countries before going on to set up GRIT Studios and much-loved Art Battle MCR with his wife Sophie, said: “It’s full circle for me having watched Eric play all over the world, it’s true honour that he’s flown in to see our talented artists.”
Artists spent time chatting with Eric and talking through their creative processes; those present included mosaic artist, Francis Thorrington, plein air (outdoor) artist, Sketch MCR – a.k.a. Ben Rock – painters Jodie Silverman, Helen Davies and Sophie Macaulay, as well as woodworker Gus Riddell.
Also a fellow United fan, Francis said he simply “couldn’t stop smiling the whole time” after Cantona described his work as wonderful.
Eric looked at home when he picked up and started strumming Chris Pollin’s hand-made guitars, which are handcrafted from driftwood and take hundreds of hours of work.
The enigmatic sports personality turned pop philosopher and cultural figure clearly enjoyed the visit. His final message was that it was refreshing to see a place where “art was for everyone” not just the elite.
As for Browne, he is sworn to secrecy on his next project but let’s just say you can expect some big announcements in the coming weeks. As for GRIT, you can visit one of their open days this Saturday, 16 November and make sure to check out their Stockport studio if you’re in the area.
Danny Jones -
20th January 2023 
