Tennys Sandgren was almost sure of victory before Roger Federer exhibited the greatest magical act of his career reach the Australian Open semi-finals on Tuesday.
The third seed erased seven match points to complete a stunning 6-3, 2-6, 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-3 win over Tennys Sandgren in an instant classic.
”You’ve got to get lucky sometimes,” Federer said with a smile in his on-court interview. “I was just hoping that maybe he wasn’t going to smash a winner, if he misses one or two [match points], who knows what’s going to happen? I think I got incredibly lucky today.
”As the match went on, I started to feel better and just tried to play. I believe in miracles. There could be rain… Just let him finish me off in style, and he didn’t do that. I’m still standing here and obviously just very happy.”
Federer remains unbeaten (15-0) in quarter-finals at this event. Next up for him is second-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic or No. 32 seed Milos Raonic of Canada. Federer trails Djokovic 23-26 in their rivalry and has lost their past three matches in Melbourne, all of which took place in the semi-finals (2008, 2011, 2016). The Swiss leads Raonic 11-3 in their series and won their lone clash at this event in 2013.
”It’s nice to see Milos back and playing well. It’s nice for him to remind everybody that he does belong up in the [FedEx ATP] Rankings. I’m really happy for him,” Federer said. “Novak, he’s a champion, especially here in Australia. We’ve had some epic matches in the past. Regardless of who I play, I need to feel better than I do today.
”The draws are not getting easier. But I’ve got the next [two] days with nothing to do… You do feel better and you just never know. With these lucky escapes, you might play without expectations because you know you should be skiing in Switzerland… Might as well make the most of it!
Federer applied pressure from the first ball in the opening set. Sandgren erased a pair of break points in his first service game, then fought back from 0/40 two games later. But Federer kept knocking on the door and it opened at 3-2, with the six-time champion securing a break after Sandgren sent a backhand long. He maintained his slight advantage and cracked a first serve on set point to take the early lead.
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