World No. 3 Roger Federer saved seven match points against American Tennys Sandgren to win 6-3 2-6 2-6 7-6 6-3 and advance to the semifinals of the Australian Open.
Roger Federer, 38 years old, saved seven match points in the thriller match versus Tennys Sandgren, ranked 100 in the world, to reach the Australian Open semifinals. Federer will go up against the defending champion Novak Djokovic who defeated Canadian Milos Raonic.
After the match, Federer said: "You've got to get lucky sometimes. In those seven match points you're not under control. It may look that way but I was just hoping that he wasn't going to smash the winner on that one point ... I think I got incredibly lucky today."
Sandgren, who appeared in his second grand slam quarterfinal, had never lost a five set match prior to the match. The American had three match points on the Swiss' serve at 5-4 in the fourth set and four more as he established a lead in the tie break that followed.
While trailing in the third set, Federer called the physiotherapist. He said: "I've played a lot of tennis throughout my life and sometimes you feel a little bit funny."
"I was starting to feel my groin and my leg started to tighten up and i really struggled in defense. I don't like calling the trainer ever because it's a sign of weakness and all that stuff -- I try not to show it," Federer explained.
In other news, Ashleigh Barty became the first Australian woman to reach the Australian Open semifinals in 36 years after defeating Petra Kvitova 7-6 6-2. The world No. 1 said: "This is absolutely incredible, I knew I had to bring my absolute best today against Petra."
"It's a challenge, I love it. I love testing myself against Petra. She has a way of bringing the very best out of me," Barty added.
