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The last time Andy Murray exited the Australian Open at the hands of Roberto Bautista Agut, there was speculation that the former World No. 1 had made his final appearance at Melbourne Park. Skip ahead four years to the Scot’s four-set defeat to the Spaniard Saturday and Murray’s immediate playing future looks brighter as a 35-year-old than it did when he was 31.

Although Murray understandably showed some fatigue against RBA after coming into the match following back-to-back five sets wins – including a five-hour, 45 minute epic against Thanasi Kokkinakis that finished after 4 a.m. Friday, the five-time Australian Open finalist appears to be in good physical condition for a man who has undergone back surgery, two hip surgeries and who has played 954 tour-level matches.

“You never know exactly when the end is going to be,” said Murray, who underwent a second hip surgery after the Australian Open in 2019. “I would like to go out playing tennis like this, where I'm competing with the best players in the world in the biggest events and doing myself justice.

“There were maybe times the last year or so where I didn't really feel like I was playing well, and I didn't enjoy the way that I was playing. Those sacrifices and that effort that I put in allowed me to get through those matches and play at a high level that I think was entertaining for the people watching.

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Novak Djokovic remained on track to capture a record-extending 10th Australian Open title Saturday when he defeated Grigor Dimitrov to reach the fourth round. However, question marks remain over the Serbian’s fitness as he once again struggled with a hamstring injury.

“It kind of always starts well in the past few matches, including this one, and then some movement happens and then [the leg] gets worse,” said Djokovic, who received two medical timeouts during his three-hour, seven-minute win. “The pills kicked in, some hot cream and stuff. That works for a little bit, then it doesn't work again. It's really a roller coaster.

“It requires a lot of energy that is being spent from my side mentally and physically, to deal with the match with my opponent and also not the ideal physical state. But it is what it is. It's a kind of circumstances that you have to accept. I'm just very grateful that I'm actually able to play. The way it looked just before the tournament started, I thought that it wouldn't be possible. I'm still here and still holding on.”

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Djokovic entered the event with a left hamstring injury suffered en route to the title in Adelaide. The 35-year-old, who will return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings if he wins a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title in Melbourne, was pleased with how he battled against the 27th seed.

The Australian Open has produced an opening week of upsets, with four of the Top 10 seeds falling before the fourth-round stage. With the pressure mounting, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime will look to overcome tricky tests against Jannik Sinner and Jiri Lehecka, respectively, and stay alive in Melbourne on Sunday.

ATPTour.com looks at what to watch on Day 7 as players look to reach the quarter-finals.

View Schedule | View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw

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[3] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs. [15] Jannik Sinner (ITA)

Tsitsipas is the highest seed left in the draw, following Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud’s early exits. Despite seeds tumbling around him, the Greek has had no such problems, not dropping a set en route to the fourth round.

Far from the season’s first Slam in Melbourne, Australia, lies the beautiful island Tenerife, where the ATP Challenger Tour makes a visit this week and two more stops within the next month.

Tenerife, which is the largest of Spain’s Canary islands, is a piece of tennis paradise. The Challenger 100 event is staged around towering palm trees at the Abama Tennis Academy, where centre court spectators can enjoy panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean while soaking in world-class tennis.

Boasting a comfortable climate year-round, Tenerife is home to a thousand experiences that range from relaxing at the beach and whale watching, to visiting the impressive volcanic structure Mount Teide, which stands over 12,000 feet. It’s a stunning destination that tennis fans can add to their bucket list.

The Tenerife Challenger is one of several pro events spearheaded by MEF Tennis Events, which is an Italian-based company that started in 2007 and specialises in the organisation, management, and marketing of sporting events. MEF Tennis Events is managed by Marcello Marchesini, who is also the tournament director in Tenerife. When the opportunity came to expand running tournaments from Italy to the Canary Islands, it was a no brainer.

Novak Djokovic was once again pushed physically at the Australian Open on Saturday, but he found a way to keep alive his quest for a record-extending 10th title at Melbourne Park.

Struggling with the hamstring injury that has plagued him since Adelaide, Djokovic looked in discomfort throughout his clash against Grigor Dimitrov. However, the Serbian dug deep and overcame the 27th seed 7-6(7), 6-3, 6-4 to reach the fourth round.

"Every point and game mattered," Djokovic said. "The turning point for both players was right from the start. Making an early break was important. I didn't know how I was going to feel physically. I was going up and down. Grigor is someone that I truly admire and respect. He is one of my best friends on Tour. We go back a long time. He is one of the most talented players you will see. He is such a great athlete." 

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In a tight clash, the former World No. 1 scrambled to win the first set, saving three set points before he converted his fifth set point with a diving forehand volley. After winning the set, the 35-year-old dragged himself to his feet and received a medical timeout, with coach Goran Ivanisevic watching on, concerned.

Andy Murray spent more than 10 hours on court across his opening two matches at the Australian Open, pushing his body to win five-set epics against Matteo Berrettini and Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Saturday’s third-round task against Roberto Bautista Agut proved a step too far, with the Spaniard defeating the five-time Australian Open finalist 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-4 to reach the fourth round.

In 2019, the pair met on Margaret Court Arena for an emotional encounter, with Murray losing what he feared would be the final match of his career. Competing in the same stadium four years on, Bautista Agut once again had the answers to triumph after three hours and 29 minutes.

"Always playing Andy is very tough," Bautista Agut said. "He knows very well how to play a Grand Slam match. I am happy with how I handled the nerves and tension through the match, to play good tennis. I am very happy with the win.

"I am feeling good on the court. I am competing well and I am doing everything I can off court to make sure I play good matches. Today was very tough."

Ben Shelton’s dream debut at the Australian Open keeps getting better. The #NextGenATP American advanced to the fourth round on Saturday when he defeated home favourite Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-4.

"It feels great," Shelton said. "I said on the court that it's a pinch-me moment. Unreal experience out there on the court today with that Aussie crowd. It was a lot of fun to be out there, and I'm happy to be moving on."

The 20-year-old saved all four break points he faced to become the fifth man to reach the Round of 16 on his Australian Open debut in the past 10 years. The fourth player to accomplish the feat, J.J. Wolf, did so earlier in the day and will also be Shelton's next opponent. 

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One year ago, Shelton was No. 569 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and still in college at the University of Florida. The lefty was not yet in the top spot of his team’s lineup.

Home favourite Alex de Minaur equalled his best result at the Australian Open Saturday when he cruised past Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-1 to reach the fourth round for a second consecutive year.

After winning a tight first set, in which he twice squandered break advantages, the Australian pulled away, committing just 12 unforced errors in the second and third sets combined to seal victory after two hours and 10 minutes.

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With his fourth victory of the season, De Minaur now leads Bonzi 3-0 in their ATP Head2Head series. He will look to keep his run going when he takes on nine-time champion Novak Djokovic or 27th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.

The 23-year-old’s best result at a major came at the US Open in 2020, when he advanced to the quarter-finals.

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski were in danger of suffering an early exit at the Australian Open on Saturday, but the top seeds found a way through to the third round.

Koolhof and Skupski battled past Greek brothers Petros Tsitsipas and Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-6(10-7) after two hours and 45 minutes. They are pursuing their first major trophy as a pair.

“We won a lot of titles last year. The only thing [that] was missing was a Grand Slam win,” Koolhof said. “We made it to the final of the US Open, but our goal is to get at least one Grand Slam this year, so why not here?”

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The Tsitsipas Brothers played well inside Kia Arena, where they happily involved the Greek fans. But Koolhof and Skupski rallied in the final-set tie-break.

Holger Rune suffered a scare when he turned his right ankle and tumbled to the court on Saturday at the Australian Open. The Dane quickly shook it off, though, and raced past Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(5) to reach the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the first time. 

It was a scary moment in the first game of the second set when Rune fell to the court and braced his fall with his wrist. But after receiving a visit from the physio, the 19-year-old quickly regained his composure and showed no ill effects inside John Cain Arena.

"I'm feeling better than I expected. I was a bit worried. My ankle is good but my wrist was hurting a bit, but the doctor checked me and he said it was fine, it's nothing to worry about," Rune said. "Of course it was painful, but I tried to focus on something else. I'm playing on such an amazing stage in the third round of a Grand Slam, so I didn't think about it. I just kept going."

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For much of the match, the ninth seed was in control despite the big-serving Frenchman's efforts. Rune won the rallies of 0-4 shots by a 71-55 margin against the powerful lefty.

Andrey Rublev unleashed a torrent of hard-hitting winners against Briton Daniel Evans Saturday to muscle his way into the fourth round of the Australian Open. The fifth seed clocked triple the number of winners (60-20) than his opponent en route to a dominant 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 win.

Evans, a gritty opponent who can get under the skin of even the most unflappable players, had proven a difficult challenge for the combustible Rublev in six prior meetings, which the players had evenly split.

But on Thursday Rublev mixed devastating first-strike tennis with one of his stronger mental performances as he denied Evans a path into the match. Hitting a Serve+1 forehand 90% of the time, Rublev dominated points of 0-4 shots, winning 66 to Evans' 44.

Not even an act of kindness from Evans could soften up the 25-year-old, who recently passed $15m in career earnings. Early in the match when Evans heard Rublev call for a banana, he tossed one to his opponent.

"I didn't ask him for it, but I asked a ball boy. He had two so he threw one to me and I caught it. It helped with some energy," Rublev said with a smile.

Jenson Brooksby earned the biggest win of his career Thursday, when he upset Casper Ruud in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open. The 22-year-old will next meet countryman Tommy Paul. 

In 2022, Brooksby enjoyed his career-best season, including rising to 33 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in June 2022. Should he beat Paul, Brooksby would tie his best Grand Slam result, which he reached at the 2021 US Open (R16, l. Djokovic).

A three-time finalist on Tour, the California native shared with ATPTour.com what he likes to cook and eat to prepare himself for competition.

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If you were having some friends over for dinner, what would you cook and why? 
I actually do cook once in awhile. My roommate Cam and I sometimes like to cook together. I would say I would cook salmon and steak with brussel sprouts and veggies. With salmon and steak I can get my protein, it’s pretty healthy and we can share it.

Michael Mmoh was sitting in his hotel room on Tuesday watching the Dallas Cowboys play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL playoffs. The American had lost in the final round of Australian Open qualifying and his hopes of taking a spot in the main draw appeared slim, so he booked his flight home.

“I was fully locked in on that game. Then all of a sudden I got a call from the ATP guy. Right when I saw the notification, I answered it right away. Like, literally,” Mmoh said Thursday. "I have never answered a phone call so fast in my life. First ring, and I was on it.”

The 25-year-old was told to be on site and get ready, since there was a possibility of a withdrawal that would see him enter the draw. Once David Goffin withdrew, the American was next on Court 13 to play Frenchman Laurent Lokoli. In the match ahead of them, Linda Fruhvirtova was leading Jaimee Fourlis 6-0, 2-0.

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“I literally just grabbed my bag, grabbed a bunch of match clothes. Luckily everything was kind of in there already. Went straight to the site,” Mmoh said. “Also luckily, that match slowed down a little bit…

Editor's Note: This article was translated from ATPTour.com/es.

Four years ago, nobody could’ve imagined that Roberto Bautista Agut and Andy Murray would cross paths at the Australian Open again. In January 2019, the Briton had announced in a press conference that he would soon be saying farewell to professional tennis, and that it would likely be his last appearance at the season’s first Grand Slam.

That day, the Spaniard picked up his first win over the former No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(4), 6-2 in a thrilling match that the Scot’s brother (Jamie) and mother (Judy) witnessed from his box. The crowd also made themselves known during the encounter.

“There was a Davis Cup atmosphere,” the Castellon native Bautista Agut recalled this Thursday, after progressing to the third round. “I dug really deep. I ended up winning the match and it gave me a lot of confidence to reach the quarters here in Australia.”

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After enjoying a career-best season this past year, including making their debut at the coveted Nitto ATP Finals, Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara are showing no signs of slowing down.

The British-Finnish duo won their first event of 2023, the Adelaide International 1, and are now aiming for their maiden Grand Slam crown. The sixth seeds kicked off their Australian Open title quest Friday by taking down Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 7-6(3), 6-3.

In other doubles action, 2022 Roland Garros champions Jean-Julien Rojer and Marcelo Arevalo fended off all six break points faced to oust Diego Hidalgo and Emil Ruusuvuori 6-1, 7-6(1).

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Several first-round upsets occurred Friday, including French duo Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul taking out ninth seeds Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-3. The Austrian tandem Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler needed just one hour, nine minutes to get past 10th seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 6-3, 7-5. Tomislav Brkic and Gonzalo Escobar defeated Jamie Murray and Michael Venus 7-6(5), 6-4.

Sebastian Korda delivered a special third-round performance on Friday to down two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open. So special in fact, that it had an ATP legend in a different time zone glued to his screen in the middle of the night.

Andre Agassi has been a mentor to Korda for the past couple of years, during which the American has developed into one of the most exciting young players on the ATP Tour. After notching his maiden Grand Slam win against a Top 10 opponent on Rod Laver Arena, the 22-year-old revealed that the eight-time Grand Slam champion Agassi had stayed up until the early hours to watch but wouldn’t be hanging around to hear more about the post-match celebrations.

“He texted me. He's going to bed now,” said Korda when asked about the eight-time Grand Slam champion Agassi, who resides in Las Vegas, at his post-match press conference. “That's the last thing he sent me. 

“He's one of the most special people in my life. We started talking during COVID in 2020. He's been one of the biggest parts in my rise. Just overall just as a tennis player, as a human being. We spend a lot of time together. Yeah, he's very special to me.

As to be expected when playing a former World No. 1 and 15-time tour-level titlist, Korda was kept on his toes throughout Friday’s victory despite the straight-sets scoreline. Medvedev rallied from 1-4 in the first set and 2-4 in the third set to force tie-breaks in both, but Korda believes a new mental approach was the key to keeping his cool whenever the momentum began to shift.

Daniil Medvedev was aiming for his second major title and first Down Under this fortnight. Instead, he will leave the Australian Open with disappointment for a third straight year.

After almost tasting victory a year ago in Melbourne, before Rafael Nadal’s epic comeback, Medvedev won’t see the second week of this year’s tournament after Sebastian Korda upset the seventh seed 7-6(7), 6-3, 7-6(4) on Friday.

Despite the disappointment of an early round straight-sets defeat, Medvedev gave a clear cut answer explaining the loss.

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“I think it was a match where he was just better than me,” Medvedev said in his post-match press conference. “Right now I'm struggling a little bit to win these kinds of matches against opponents that can play at a good level. That's what I have to find back.”

After an eventful first five days at the 2023 Australian Open, Saturday's action will narrow the men's singles field to 16 as the third round draws to a close.

Two men's matches feature on Rod Laver Arena — Novak Djokovic vs. Grigor Dimitrov and Alex de Minaur vs. Benjamin Bonzi — while Andy Murray takes on 24th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in a Margaret Court Arena evening match.

ATPTour.com breaks down some key contests on Day 6 in Melbourne.

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[4] Novak Djokovic (SER) vs. [27] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)

Djokovic hopes to repeat his heroics from the 2021 Australian Open, when he won the title despite dealing with an abdominal tear. Entering this year's event with a left hamstring injury, the Serbian has managed the problem well so far, even if he required a medical timeout during his four-set win against Enzo Couacaud on Friday.

Australian Alexei Popyrin lost a heartbreaking three-setter to countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis last week in the first round of the Adelaide International 2. After a back-and-forth battle, Kokkinakis used the crowd to triumph 6-0, 6-7(5), 7-5 after a grueling two hours and 45 minutes.

While Kokkinakis thanked the crowd and bathed in the cheers of his home fans, Popyrin was left empty-handed. It was another devastating defeat for a talented 23-year-old who struggled to a 5-17 tour-level record in 2022.

As Popyrin walked up the ramp to depart the Memorial Drive facility, fans waited for the one-time ATP Tour titlist to sign autographs, which he did happily. Popyrin then began the five-minute walk to his hotel when he noticed a boy more than 10 metres away trying to take a selfie with the Australian in the background. Popyrin might have lost the match, but he was still a star to the boy.

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The Sydney-native called the fan over to take a proper selfie and could not help but crack a smile. As tough as his loss was, all was not bad for the Aussie. And just more than a week later, things could not be more different.

Sebastian Korda backed up his impressive start to 2023 by delivering a statement performance on Friday at the Australian Open, where he outplayed Daniil Medvedev for a 7-6(7), 6-3, 7-6(4) third-round victory.

The American struck the ball confidently from the first point against the seventh-seeded Medvedev. He broke the 2021 and 2022 Australian Open finalist in the first game and was a constant threat in return games, ultimately converting five out of 10 break points and holding his nerve in first and third-set tie-breaks to seal a fourth-round spot in style.

“It was an unbelievable match,” said Korda in his on-court interview. “I kind of knew what I had to do. I stuck with it even when I was going up and down with the emotions, but I’m thrilled right now, I played amazing, and it was an unbelievable match from me.”

With his two-hour, 59-minute win, Korda rose to No. 28 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and is now likely to set a new career-high after the Australian Open. Meanwhile defeat saw former World No. 1 Medvedev drop out of the Top 10 in the Live Rankings, with the 26-year-old currently at No. 12.

In his first tournament of 2023, Korda defeated Andy Murray and Jannik Sinner en route to the final of the Adelaide International 1, where he held championship point before falling in three sets to Novak Djokovic. Having now dispatched Medvedev for his first Grand Slam win against a Top 10 opponent, the 2018 Australian Open boys’ singles champion will be feeling confident as he prepares to face Hubert Hurkacz in the next round.