Murray stretched in third round of Australian Open

Scottish tennis star Andy Murray dropped his first set of this year's Australian Open on Saturday, before putting on the afterburners to seal a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Joao Sousa.

The second-seeded Murray had to work hard in a relatively taxing third round match against his Portuguese opponent, recovering to win in four after losing the second set, reports Xinhua.

Murray, a four-time runner-up at the Open, will play the winner of the all-Australian third round clash between 16th-seed Bernard Tomic and John Millman.

The 28-year-old did not give a post-match press conference following the hard fought win, after he was informed that his father-in-law, Nigel Sears, collapsed in the stands in the Rod Laver Arena.

Sears, the coach of women's star Ana Ivanovic, fell to the floor while watching the Serb's third round match against American Madison Keys.

The 58-year-old, who is the father of Murray's wife Kim, reportedly received CPR from medical personnel before being transferred to hospital.

Tournament officials released a statement a short time after the incident on Saturday night, but would not confirm the man in question was Sears.

"A male in his 50s fell ill in Rod Laver Arena this evening. He was transported to hospital by ambulance," the statement read.

"The match was suspended and the players updated on his condition. The players had the opportunity to consult with their teams and then went back on court.

"The players returned to the court at 8.40 p.m."

Kim is due to give birth to the couple's first child in the coming weeks, and could not travel to Australia to support her husband. Murray has stated he will fly home should Kim go into labour mid-tournament.