Australian Open, day 5 men’s roundup: Federer survives after epic against Millman; Tsitsipas ousted

All the results from the fifth day of men’s singles at the first Grand Slam of the year.

Jan 24, 2020 · 04:46 pm Updated Jan 24, 2020 · 07:49 pm

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Six-time champion Roger Federer survived an epic five-set marathon to seal his 100th Australian Open win Friday, fending off a huge challenge from John Millman.

The Swiss master was rattled by the all-guns-blazing Australian, but finally scraped past him 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (10/8) to stay alive in his quest for a 21st Grand Slam title.

Federer was trailing 4-8 in the super tiebreaker of the fifth set (10 points) but he found an extra gear to stun Millman, who looked to be the favourite at the final stages.

This was the former world No 1’s 100th win at Australian Open.

Federer came within a whisker of repeating his 2018 US Open upset by Millman as he was taken to five punishing sets by the tough Australian.

“Oh God, it was tough,” said Federer. “Thank God it was a super tie-breaker (10 points), otherwise I would have lost this one. It came down to the wire in the end.”

Earlier, defending champion Novak Djokovic cruised into the fourth round while top 10 seeds Stefanos Tsitsipas and Roberto Bautista Agut were knocked out on Friday.

Second seeded Djokovic swept past past Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in just 85 minutes on Rod Laver Arena to reach a Grand Slam round of 16 for the 50th time – second only to Roger Federer’s 67.

The win set up a clash with 14th seed Diego Schwartzman for a place in the quarter-finals after the Argentinian beat Djokovic’s countryman Dusan Lajovic 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (9/7).

Sixth seedTsitsipas was sent crashing out by Milos Raonic in the third round, with the giant Canadian’s power serve doing the damage.

The Greek star, widely tipped as a contender to challenge the big guns at the opening Grand Slam of the year, was no match for his experienced opponent, slumping 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2).

Expectations were high for the 21-year-old, who stunned Federer in 2019 en route to the final four and lifted the season-ending ATP Finals in London. But Raonic had his measure, pumping down almost unplayable 220 kph (136 mph) serves while smashing 19 aces and 55 winners.

His win set up a mouthwatering fourth-round clash against 2018 finalist Marin Cilic, who battled past ninth seed Bautista Agut in his five gruelling sets.

The 31-year-old unseeded Croatian had a forgettable season last year, sliding down the rankings from seven to 39, his lowest year-ending position since 2007.

But he has started the season on fire and claimed a big scalp in beating the Spaniard, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-0, 5-7, 6-3 on Melbourne Arena.