By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday January 28, 2020
Six-time champion Roger Federer pulled a match point miracle, saving seven match points to knock off Tennys Sandgren at the Australian Open.
Photo Source: Mark Peterson/ Corleve
Roger Federer nearly suffered his worst Australian Open defeat by ranking on Day 9 as he was close to being bundled out of the Australian Open quarterfinals by 100th-ranked Tennys Sandgren of the United States.
But seven match points saved later, the six-time Australian Open champion had wrestled free and flipped the switch to notch one of his most improbable victories of all-time 6-3 2-6 2-6 7-6(8) 6-3.
"Gotta get lucky sometimes, I'll tell you that," a shocked Federer said after the match.
It was a testy match in the early going as Federer squandered a fast start by dropping the second set, and things got worse for the Swiss in the third set as the 38-year-old became miffed when he was handed a code violation from chair umpire Marijana Veljovic for an audible obscenity.
That episode proved to be the least of Federer's worries.
Moments later, after a trip off court for a medical timeout for a groin issue, Federer returned and fell behind two sets to one.
"My leg tightened up and I really struggled on defense," Federer recalled on the court after the match.
Federer's listless play continued through the fourth set and it seemed like his demise was rapidly approaching. But the veteran of 71 Grand Slam main draws showed slgns of life in a tenth game that saw him save three match points in the tenth game to level up at four games a piece, and his energy surged from there.
At first the rally appeared to be short-lived.
Federer looked down and out again as Sandgren raced to a 6-3 advantage in the fourth set breaker but the Swiss had more magic tricks up his sleeve. Sandgren, meanwhile, was starting to be overwhelmed by the pinch of the moment. Federer saved three more match points, the first two thanks to Sandgren's indecision and the last one brilliantly, to level at 6-all.
"I'm sure I could have played them better, at least some of the moments better," a disappointed Sandgren told reporters in press. "But I didn't, so here I am."
Federer would make it a lucky seven match points saved, tying his personal record, before locking down the tiebreaker and bringing the crowd to a frenzy.
The Swiss kept his level high in the fifth set and eventually broke for 4-2 before serving out the match moments later to match his career record for match points saved en route to victory.
"I think I got incredibly lucky today," Federer said. "And then as the match went on I started to feel better again, and all the pressure went away and I just tried to play."
The 20-time major champion has now saved match points en route to victory 22 times in his career, and four times at the majors. He had never saved more than three at the Grand Slams before.
ROGER FEDERER, MATCH POINT SAVES IN VICTORIES AT SLAMS
2000, Peter Wessels, 1 MP saved US Open R1
2014, Gael Monfils, 2 MP saved US Open QF
2016, Marin Cilic, 3 MP saved, Wimbledon QF
2020, Tennys Sandgren, 7 MP saved, Australian Open QF
"I don't deserve this one, but I'm standing here and I'm obviously very, very happy," he said.
He will face either Novak Djokovic or Milos Raonic in the semifinals.
More to follow…