Tennis champion Andy Murray has been commended for a simple act after winning a gruelling four-hour and 49-minute-long Australian Open match.
After defeating Italian Matteo Berrettini in an epic five-set match on Monday, the visibly exhausted British tennis player walked to his courtside bench with a plastic bag and began filling it with rubbish.
He then asked for the bin and was guided by the venue support staff, who seemed surprised by the request.
He was praised on social media, with Twitter users labeling it a "class act" and the tennis star a "fantastic role model".
"My son’s middle name is Andrew and was inspired by this man who continues to excel as a human being." one person wrote on Twitter.
"This lad is a fabulous human being and I respect and love him," another tweeted.
"I mean, I didn't think it was possible to love Andy Murray any more than I already did, but...," another said.
Murray wound back the clock to save a match point and beat the highly-rated 13th seed Berrettini 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (10-6).
It was the 35-year-old's first over a top-20 rival at a grand slam since he toppled then-world number nine Kei Nishikori at the 2017 French Open.
"The last few years, I've certainly questioned myself at times," he told reporters on Monday
"There's certainly a lot of people questioned me and my ability, whether I could still perform at the biggest events and the biggest matches.
"Yeah, I felt very proud of myself after the match. That's not something that I generally felt over the years at the end of tennis matches."
Murray credited a heavy training block in Florida for his marathon effort.
- With AAP.
