Swiss squeeze

MELBOURNE, January 24

Roger Federer looked defeat full in the face before rallying in the 10-point tiebreaker to edge local battler John Millman in a five-set thriller on Friday and reach the last-16 of the Australian Open. It was Federer’s 100th victory at Melbourne Park and few of them can have been as hard as the four-hour, 4-6 7-6(2) 6-4 4-6 7-6(8) epic he shared with the teak-tough world No. 47 on Rod Laver Arena.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion made an extraordinary 82 unforced errors to go with 62 winners in a contest that was decided by the extended tiebreak introduced to prevent even longer contests. Even that was not straightforward for Federer.

The apparently indefatigable Millman held leads of 5-2 and 8-4 on the back of some brilliant tennis, forcing 38-year-old Federer to rattle off five straight points before securing the victory with a crosscourt forehand winner. “Thank God it was a super tiebreaker or I would have lost that one. John played a great match… he deserves more than half of this one,” said Federer. — Reuters

Teary farewell

Caroline Wozniacki’s glittering tennis career ended in tears on Friday when she was dumped out by lower-ranked Ons Jabeur of Tunisia. The Danish former world No. 1, who announced in December that this would be her final tournament, lost 7-5 3-6 7-5 in the third round. The unseeded 29-year-old brings the curtain down on a career that saw her win 30 WTA titles, with her sole Grand Slam triumph coming in 2018 at Melbourne Park. Wozniacki, who made her professional debut in 2005, was given a rapturous reception by the Melbourne Arena crowd and was embraced by Jabeur. “I’ve

had unbelievable experiences on the court, amazing fans and support I’ve had my from family, especially my Dad, who has coached me all these years,” said Wozniacki, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, which causes fatigue and joint pain. afp

Time’s up

Unseeded 15-year-old Coco Gauff beat reigning champion Naomi Osaka in straight sets in a major upset. The American prodigy, making her Melbourne debut this year, beat the third seed 6-3 6-4 in the third round to avenge her heavy defeat at last year’s US Open.

Down, out

Chinese 27th seed Wang Qiang extended former world No. 1 Serena Williams’ wait for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title, producing a superb performance to seal a 6-4 6-7(2) 7-5 win over the American and move into the fourth round.

The shadow

Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic made short work of his second Japanese opponent in as many matches, felling Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3 6-2 6-2 in 85 minutes to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the 50th time in his career. Djokovic will next face Diego Schwartzman, who beat Djokovic’s compatriot Dusan Lajovic 6-2 6-4 7-6(7).

Sharan out

India’s Divij Sharan and New Zealand’s Artem Sitak were knocked out of the men’s doubles competition. Brazil’s Bruno Soares and Croatia’s Mate Pavic beat Sharan and Sitak 7-6(2) 6-3 in Round 2. Rohan Bopanna is the only Indian left in the fray now. The 39-year-old will partner Ukraine’s Nadiia Kichenok in the mixed doubles event.

Raonic Aces it

Milos Raonic sent sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas tumbling out, with the Greek hotshot powerless against the Canadian’s big serve and pinpoint groundstrokes. Tsitsipas, widely tipped as a challenger to 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(2). Raonic, 29, pumped down almost unplayable 220kph serves while smashing 19 aces and 55 winners.

Brutal Barty

World No. 1 and home favourite Ashleigh Barty said she played her best match this year in blowing away 29th seed Elena Rybakina 6-3 6-2 to barrel into the fourth round. Barty needed just 78 minutes to dispose of the young Kazakh and said: “I felt I needed to be really switched on for this. I feel it’s the best I’ve played this summer so far.”

Other results (Round 3)

Men: Tennys Sandgren (USA) bt Sam Querrey (USA) 6-4 6-4 6-4; 12-Fabio Fognini (ITA) bt 22-Guido Pella (ARG) 7-6(0) 6-2 6-3; Marton Fucsovics (HUN) bt Tommy Paul (USA) 6-1 6-1 6-4; Marin Cilic (CRO) bt 9-Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 6-7(3) 6-4 6-0 5-7 6-3

Women: 18-Alison Riske (USA)bt Julia Goerges (GER) 1-6 7-6(4) 6-2; 22-Maria Sakkari (GRE) bt 10-Madison Keys (USA) 6-4 6-4; 7-Petra Kvitova (CZE) bt 25-Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-1 6-2; 14-Sofia Kenin (USA) bt Shuai Zhang (CHN) 7-5 7-6(7)