Andy Murray breaks down in tears after beating Marius Copil at Citi Open in his latest ever finish after 3am conclusion

The former British No 1 left the court fighting back tears after coming through an emotional victory in the early hours of Friday morning to reach the quarter-finals

A tearful Andy Murray showed the full extent of his latest ever finish to a match after defeating Marius Copil to reach the quarter-finals of the Citi Open in a match that finished shortly after 03:00 local time in Washington DC.

Murray once again has to dig deep to come through the match after dropping a set, but just like his second round encounter against fellow Briton Kyle Edmund, the two-time Wimbledon champion was able to rally and secure a 7-6 (7-5), 3-5, 7-6 (7-4) victory.

At the conclusion of the match a minute after the clock ticked past 03:00 on Friday morning, Murray sobbed into his towel as the emotion of the gruelling match took its toll on the world No 832 – who is continuing his comeback from hip surgery that saw him miss 11 months.

If Murray came to Washington in hopes of getting in some extra work as he tries to return to form after hip surgery in January, he is certainly accomplishing that.

After rain delayed earlier action, three-time major champion Murray and Copil didn't even start playing until midnight as Thursday turned to Friday. By the end, there were 100 or so fans in the main stadium at the hard-court tune-up for the U.S. Open.

Andy Murray broke down into tears after defeating Marius Copil to reach the Citi Open quarter-finals (Getty)

After taking a 5-0 lead in the opening-set tiebreaker, Murray dropped seven consecutive points to hand the lead over to Copil.

Former No. 1-ranked Murray is now at No. 832. He returned from an 11-month absence in June, playing just three matches before arriving at the Citi Open.

Andy Murray roars with delight after winning a point against Marius Copil (Getty)

In Friday's quarterfinals, he will face 19-year-old Alex de Minaur of Australia.

Full report to follow...

AP