Andy Murray out of Australian Open after third round defeat to Roberto Bautista Agut

Andy Murray’s heroic run in the Australian Open is over after a third round defeat on Saturday.

The Scot was taking on Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut just over 24 hours from his epic six hour game against Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Agut won the first set 6-1 before Murray fought back to win the second 7-6.

The Spaniard won the third 6-3 before taking the decider 6-4.

Murray was back at the scene of his late-night heroics against Kokkinakis that finished at 4am on Friday in Melbourne.

Having done his best to recover from the five-hour, 45-minute epic.

Coupled with a near five-hour first-round win against Matteo Berrettini, Murray had spent 10 hours and 34 minutes on court just making it through to the last 32.

And to begin with it appeared he would offer little resistance but he willed himself into the match and improbably took the second set before Spaniard Bautista Agut claimed a 6-1 6-7 (7) 6-3 6-4 victory after three hours and 29 minutes.

Coupled with a loss for Dan Evans to Andrey Rublev earlier, that is now the end of the British challenge in singles for another year at Melbourne Park.

This was the first time at a grand slam since the French Open in 2017, when Murray’s hip problems began, that he has been the last British singles player standing.

The contest also came four years after he tearfully revealed the extent of his hip pain and that he was considering retiring ahead of a first-round clash with Bautista Agut in Melbourne.