Andy Murray is confident he can reach the latter stages of a grand slam before calling time on his career after being left "disappointed" by his third-round exit at the Australian Open.
The 35-year-old showed what he is capable of by defeating Thanasi Kokkinakis in a near-six-hour epic in the early hours of Friday, but he came unstuck against Roberto Bautista Agut on Saturday.
Murray, who was also on the court for almost four hours against Matteo Berrettini in the first round, fell just short of a place in the last 16 with a 6-1 6-7 (9-7) 6-3 6-4 loss on Margaret Court Arena.
Three-time grand slam winner Murray is already looking ahead to the Rotterdam Open in three weeks' time, though, and is hopeful of making his mark at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open later in the year.
"I can have a deeper run than the third round of a slam, there's no question about that," he told reporters. "Obviously draws can open up for you.
"I need to also help myself with that. If I was playing at this level last year, I probably wouldn't be ranked 50, 60 in the world. It's up to me to try and change that."
Murray, who was on court for around 14 hours across his three matches in Melbourne, says the amount of hours put into practising is made worthwhile as he looks to prolong his career.
"Obviously you never know exactly when the end is going to be," he said. "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.
"I felt good about the way that I was playing. It's more enjoyable for me when I'm playing like that, when I'm coming into a major event and really believing that I can do some damage."
Perhaps showing signs of rustiness from his early-morning finish against Kokkinakis, Murray struggled in the first set against Bautista Agut as three double faults – as many as he had in the whole of his second-round match – handed the initiative to his opponent.
Murray recovered from a point down in the second set to level up via a tie-break, despite trailing 5-2 and 6-4, though Bautista Agut earned the only break of serve in the third set to edge back in front.
Never before had Murray played three successive five-set matches in the main draw of a grand slam, and that remains the case as Bautista Agut shut out the loud noise generated by the crowd to recover from an early break down and take the match.
"I have a lot of mixed emotions," said Murray, who has not reached a grand slam quarter-final in six years. "I feel like I gave everything that I had to this event. So I'm proud of that.
"That is all you can ever do. You can't always control the outcome. You can't control how well you're going to play or the result. You can control the effort that you put into it, and I gave everything that I had the last three matches. I'm very proud of that.
"But I'm also disappointed because I put loads of work into the beginning of this year and was playing well enough to have a really good run, have a deep run.
"I think even tonight I'm competing against a guy 20 in the world, and it's still very tight considering the circumstances. I feel disappointed because I feel like I could have gone quite a bit further."
Number 24 seed Bautista Agut, who has only once previously reached the last eight in Melbourne, will face Tommy Paul in the next round.
Sinner inspires comeback to help Italy reach Davis Cup semi-finals
Jannik Sinner kept Italy's hopes of retaining the Davis Cup alive after winning matches in the singles and doubles to inspire a 2-1 comeback triumph over Argentina on Thursday.
Sinner and Matteo Berrettini edged Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4 7-5 in the deciding game to set up a rematch of last year's showpiece against Australia in the final four.
However, the Italians started off on the back foot when Francisco Cerundolo downed Olympic bronze medallist Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 6-1 in an hour and 29 minutes.
Musetti converted just two of the eight break points he was presented with, as Cerundolo put Argentina on the brink of reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 2016.
But two-time grand slam champion Sinner, who won the ATP Finals last weekend, carried his momentum forward from Turin against Sebastian Baez.
The world number one breezed to a 6-2 6-1 win over his opponent, serving seven aces to the Argentine's one, while also saving all four break points he faced.
Sinner then returned to the court alongside Berrettini, with the pair replacing Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the must-win clash.
The pair won 90% of their first-serve points and fended off all five break points they faced, earning a key break at 5-5 in the second set before surging to victory.
"It was a must-win match," said Sinner. "Very different conditions. The court is very, very fast and tough to play.
"I haven't had so much time to adapt to the conditions, but I'm happy about today."
Data Debrief: The Italian Job
Italy edged closer to becoming only the sixth nation to retain the Davis Cup since the final stage was introduced 52 years ago, and first since the Czech Republic in 2013.
But they were inspired by Sinner once again, who proved why he will end the year at the summit of the ATP rankings.
And after leading Italy to their first Davis Cup title since 1976 with a victory against Australia's Alex de Minaur last year, he will fancy his chances this time around.
Ebden and Thompson send Australia to third straight Davis Cup semi
Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson booked Australia's place in the Davis Cup semi-finals after the pair clinched their deciding match against the United States to win 2-1.
The pair, who won gold at the Paris Olympics, beat Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton 6-4 6-4 to put Lleyton Hewitt's side into their third successive semi-final at the men's team event.
Australia, who have won the tournament 28 times, largely had Thanasi Kokkinakis to thank after his remarkable triumph over Shelton in the first match of the day.
Kokkinakis saved four match points and let slip six of his own before eventually prevailing 6-1 4-6 7-6 (16-14) in an engrossing encounter that lasted two hours and 14 minutes.
However, in the rematch of a recent ATP Finals group-stage match, Taylor Fritz emerged victorious over Alex De Minaur as he did in Turin a week ago.
Despite De Minaur going 2-0 up in the second set, Fritz roared back to earn a 6-3 6-4 victory to send the tie the distance in Malaga.
But Australia held their nerve, and will discover their opponents later on Thursday when reigning champions Italy take on Argentina.
Ebden and Thompson’s win came after United States’ captain Bob Bryan opted for a late change, with Paul and Shelton replacing Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.
“We were expecting the other pair, but we knew they’ve got incredible players who can play doubles,” said Ebden.
“We were ready. A slight adjustment obviously. More huge serving singles players than the doubles craft, maybe, but it was just as big a challenge as any.
"Out here, finals live match, just to play with Jordan here was real fun. Following what Kokk did, unfortunately Alex went down, but what a day. So fun, so happy.”
Data Debrief: Australia ready to right Davis Cup wrongs
Australia have failed to win the Davis Cup since 2003, but they will be confident of halting that streak this time around.
If they take the trophy, they will have reason to thank Kokkinakis, whose tie-break win against Shelton was the longest an Australian player had featured in at the tournament, surpassing Pat Rafter's win over David Rikl in the 1997 quarter-finals of the competition (15-13).
Ebden and Thompson also shone when it mattered most, serving four aces compared to Paul and Shelton's two, while also winning 92% of their first-serve points.
Paolini and Bronzetti seal fifth Billie Jean King Cup for Italy
Victories for Jasmine Paolini and Lucia Bronzetti handed Italy their fifth Billie Jean King Cup title as they overcame Slovakia in Wednesday's final in Malaga.
Italy, who were beaten in last year's final by Canada, overcame Poland in the semi-finals on Monday as Paolini partnered Sara Errani for a decisive doubles win over world number two Iga Swiatek and Katarzyna Kawa.
The showpiece contest began with Bronzetti triumphing 6-2 6-4 against Viktoria Hruncakova, before Paolini took to the court to face Rebecca Sramkova.
The world number four – who won doubles gold at the Paris Olympics in August to cap her breakout year – eased past Sramkova by a 6-2 6-1 scoreline to ensure a doubles match was not required.
Speaking after Italy claimed the trophy for the first time since 2011, Bronzetti heaped praise upon her team-mate and revealed she had struggled to sleep before playing in front of 12-time grand slam champion King.
"Jasmine raised her level really high this year. She's an example for all of us," Bronzetti said.
Asked about King's presence in the crowd, Bronzetti added: "She is a great person, a great legend. I didn't sleep very well.
"You're not playing just for yourself. You're playing for your team and your country. We all want this trophy, and it is our dream, all Italians."
Data Debrief: Five-star Italy
Italy have claimed their fifth Billie Jean King Cup, having previously triumphed in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2013.
Only the United States (18), Czechoslovakia/Czechia (11) and Australia (seven) have won more. Spain and Russia (also including the USSR and Russian Tennis Federation) have also tasted success five times.
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