Roger Federer’s quest for a 21st Grand Slam title continues after the 38-year-old fended off seven match points in the fourth set against Tennys Sandgren before prevailing 6-3 2-6 2-6 7-6(8) 6-3.
Sandgren, whose only ATP title came at Auckland last year, has often produced miracles on the grandest stage and headed into the clash with Federer with a 5-2 record against top-20 players in Grand Slams – a better win percentage than the Swiss.
And it looked like the American would add another scalp as he fought back from a set down to put himself within touching distance of a semi-final as the Swiss produced an error-strewn performance – such was his frustration the 20-time Grand Slam champion would receive a code violation warning for obscene language following an errant backhand.
Federer, who took a medical timeout in set three, continued to waver in the fourth with what he would later describe as a “tight groin”, but drew on all his experience to fend off seven match points – four of which came in the tiebreak – before winning the set and then sealing his spot in the next round with a break in the sixth game of the fifth.
“You’ve got to get lucky sometimes,” Federer said on court after the match, who threw down 56 unforced errors.
“I was just hoping that maybe he was not going to smash the winner, to keep the ball in play, who knows what he’s thinking about?
The six-time Australian Open winner, who was two points from defeat against John Millman in the third round and fought back from a set down against Marton Fucsovics in the fourth round, awaits the winner of Milos Raonic and Novak Djokovic.
