Andy Murray rolled back the years to defeat 13th seed Matteo Berrettini in a five-set epic at the Australian Open on Tuesday, on a day when sweltering heat and then heavy rain played havoc.

There was also controversy off the court on day two after organisers banned Russian and Belarusian flags at Melbourne Park.

Novak Djokovic was set to make his eagerly anticipated return to the Grand Slam later Tuesday, following his ban and deportation last year.

The day looked set to belong to the 35-year-old Murray — and Melbourne’s famously fickle weather.

The Briton saved match point to defeat Italy’s Berrettini 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (7/9), 7-6 (10/6) in 4hrs 49mins on Rod Laver Arena, where the roof was closed because of the extreme heat.

Read the full story on sportsdesk.com.mt...

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.