Never count a 23-time grand slam champion out, no matter how mortal he may appear.
There was some early brilliance, an injury timeout, a mid-match temper tantrum, allegations of ballkid sabotage, a bushel of match points, and yet, Roger Federer survived a major quarter-final scare to down American Tennys Sandgren in five sets.
After more than three hours of high-octane drama, Federer emerged victorious 6-3 2-6 2-6 7-6 (8) 6-3.
“I believe in miracles,” Federer told Nine post-match.
“You’ve got to get lucky sometimes, I tell you that. On those seven match points, you’re not under control. It might look that way, but I was just hoping maybe he wasn’t going to smash the winner.
“I think I got lucky today. With these lucky escapes, you don’t play with any expectations because you should be skiing in Switzerland. So you might as well make the most of it.”
The six-time Australian Open title winner looked uncharacteristically tepid as he lurched to a two-sets-to-one deficit while nursing tightness in his groin and legs.
Federer called for the trainer when trailing 3-0 in the third set, and was treated to a lengthy off-court injury timeout in response.
Sandgren, the world No.100, earned his first three match points on the Federer serve up 5-4 in the fourth set, which he squandered with groundstrokes fired into the net.
Four additional chances to secure the upset of the championships came and went in the ensuing tiebreak, as the one-time Australian Open quarter-finalist encountered jitters on his forehand wing.
Resuming in the fifth set, Federer appeared to overcome his early injury woes, moving more freely as Sandgren grew irritable with off-court distractions and his own drained shot-making.
Federer secured the remarkable comeback on his first match point, with Sandgren dumping one final return into the netting.
Federer had already rallied two points from defeat to avoid a five-set upset in the third round against Australia’s John Millman.
More to come…
The post Australian Open: Roger Federer completes stunning comeback over Tennys Sandgren appeared first on The New Daily.
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