World No. 1 Roger Federer escaped from a 2-1 set deficit to defeat the pesky Janko Tipsarevic 6-7(5), 7-6(1), 5-7, 6-1, 10-8 in third round play at the Australian Open on Saturday.
The 4-hour, 27-minute match was Fed's third longest of his Grand Slam career, and the 63 games tied his effort from his 2005 loss to Marat Safin in Melbourne for most games in a match. The 18 games was the deepest Federer had ever gone in a fifth set in his career.
The Swiss also served a career-best 39 aces, and never faced a break point in the fourth or fifth sets.
While Fed won 29 more points than the 49th-ranked Serb, Fed was just 5 of 21 on breakpoints while Tipsarevic was a perfect 3-for-3.
Federer began the match on solid footing, racing to a 5-3 lead until the Serb broke back and eventuall took the first set, snapping a 30-set winning streak at the Australian Open by Federer.
There were no breaks in the second set, which Federer eventually won in a tiebreak in convincing fasion 7-1 and seemingly all looked in control for the Swiss once he gained an early break in the third. But Tipsarevic stormed right back breaking Federer twice en route to a 7-5 set win.
Federer regained control in the fourth, overpowering Tipsarevic 6-1.
Play settled back down at the start of the fifth set with both players holding easily until Federer, who is now 11-10 in five set matches, gained two break points, but was unable to convert.
Federer finally gained the break to go up 9-8, and the 26-year-old was able to close it out for his 17th straight win in Melbourne.
The win keeps Federer in control of his No. 1 ranking, as he must reach the last four to secure it for a 209th consecutive week.
Federer is seeking his 13th Grand Slam title, and his fourth Australian Open.
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