Defending champion Novak Djokovic withstood a barrage of brilliance from Stanislas Wawrinka with a stunning five-hour win at the Australian Open.
The world number one came back from 6-1 5-2 down to win 1-6 7-5 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 12-10 in an electrifying night session on Rod Laver Arena.
An epic deciding set finally came to an end at 1.41am when Djokovic swept a cross-court backhand past Wawrinka at the net.
Djokovic, who will meet Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals, has now won 18 successive matches at Melbourne Park, a run that includes the near six hour victory over Nadal in 2012.
"I think it's by far the best match I've ever played, especially in five sets against the number one player," said Wawrinka."It definitely ranks right at the top," said Djokovic, when asked to rate the victory over Wawrinka. "One of the longest, most interesting, and most exciting matches I have played in my career
The Australian Open continues till the 27th of January
I woke up early to watch this and it was well worth it. Both men gave their all and put in an awesome performance. I was rooting for Nole, but it would have been okay if Murray had won.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to both men.
Can't wait to see them stand up to Nadal at the French and Fed at Wimbledon.