Andy Murray has lit up the Australian Open with a scarcely believable break point on Thursday. 

The British veteran, facing home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second-round in Melbourne, was two sets and a break down but rolled back the years and utilised his magnificent defence to secure a break back.

A hugely pumped-up Murray, 35, then cupped and pointed his finger to his ear to the crowd to indicate he wanted them to show their appreciation by being louder - as a frustrated Kokkinakis smashed his racket on the floor in anger.

After Murray patted a return of serve down the middle, Kokkinakis smashed a forehand down the line which had Murray scrambling, and opened his body up to send another forehand to the opposite side, which Murray somehow kept in.

Kokkinakis, 26, then had three opportunities to put the three-time Grand Slam champion away with a smash but Murray predicted where he was going each time, and his third return pushed Kokkinakis back from the net to the baseline.

When Murray returned his baseball-style shot, a clearly fed-up Kokkinakis - the reigning men's doubles champion along with compatriot Nick Kyrgios - fired a forehand into the net and threw his racket to the ground in disgust and disbelief. 

Twice-Wimbledon champion Murray beat 13th seed Matteo Berrettini in a thrilling five-set, nearly five-hour thriller to reach the second round, while Kokkinakis eased past veteran Fabio Fognini in the first round. 

Murray left the Australian Open in tears four years ago thinking upcoming hip surgery would lead to his retirement.

But victory over Berrettini with a metal hip ranked among the greatest triumphs of his career and will hope to upset Kokkinakis by coming back from two sets down to win on Thursday. 

 And supporters quickly took to social media to praise Murray's superb recovery.

One Twitter user said: 'What a total legend!' while one simply added: 'Insane!!!!'.

A third posted: 'Sir Andy says it ain't over till it's over.'

One continued: 'Win or lose today, what a sportsman, what an athlete, what a career!!'.

Another tweeted: 'Point of the year for me already......'.

A sixth concluded: 'Unreal. Gonna show this to my 10 year old as an example of never knowing when you’re beat and always giving your best. Incredible.'