Roger Federer outlasts Millman for 100th Australian Open win

Switzerland’s Roger Federer watches the ball during his second round singles match against Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

MELBOURNE, Australia— Roger Federer was thinking, “Uh, oh, here we go again.”

Two points from defeat at the Australian Open against a familiar foe, his mind already was drifting to dissecting how he lost.

About 1 1/2 years after John Millman outlasted, and ousted, Federer in their only previous Grand Slam meeting, the 47th-ranked Australian gave the 20-time major champion all he could handle again.

This time, though, Federer pulled out the victory, pushing back from way down in the final-set tiebreaker, grabbing the last six points and getting to the fourth round at Melbourne Park by edging Millman 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (8).

“Oh, God, it was tough,” Federer said of his record 100th match win at the Australian Open.

The entertaining, back-and-forth match lasted a tad more than four hours, beginning on Friday and concluding at nearly 1 a.m. on Saturday, with roars after each point during the first-to-10 tiebreaker in the fifth set.

Federer trailed 8-4 there before rallying to snap a three-match losing skid in five-setters.

“It came down to the wire at the end. A bit of luck, maybe. I had to stay so focused,” Federer said. “He kept on coming up with the goods. … I was getting ready to explain myself in the press conference.”

Like Millman’s four-set win over Federer in the fourth round of the 2018 U.S. Open last September, this one was contested in high humidity. And like back then, Millman was drenched.

After taking the fourth set this time, Millman removed and replaced his soaked socks and sneakers. When the 38-year-old Federer pushed a runaround forehand long to get broken and trail 2-1 in the final set, Millman, who’s 30, plopped himself down on his sideline seat and munched on a banana.

Federer’s biggest issue was his forehand, for so long one of the secrets to his success. It deserted him completely for stretches, and he finished with a whopping 48 of his 82 unforced errors from that shot.

But that shot also helped him deliver the final winner he would need on match point.

Moments earlier, three consecutive amazing shots — once-in-a-lifetime type shots — by Millman pushed him ahead 8-4 in the final tiebreaker.

A backhand stop volley, followed by a pair of forehand passing winners.
It wasn’t enough.

“That’s what the best players, I guess, do,” Millman said of Federer’s comeback. “I’ll have to go back and watch it.”
Talk about a close call. But, all in all, on a day of big happenings in the women’s bracket — Serena Williams lost; 15-year-old Coco Gauff beat defending champion Naomi Osaka — there wasn’t nearly as much upheaval in the men’s draw.

The most noteworthy upset, at least by seeding, was No. 32 Milos Raonic’s 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (2) victory over No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas, a semifinalist here a year ago.

Raonic hit 19 aces among his 55 winners and this is how Tsitsipas described dealing with that big serve: “You’re just there, getting punched in the face with one shot.”

While Raonic has been overtaken in the rankings — and in terms of fan and media attention — by a couple of younger Canadians, Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime, the 2016 Wimbledon runner-up is the one headed to Week 2 in Australia.

It’s nothing new for the 29-year-old Raonic, who has been a semifinalist once and a quarterfinalist three times at Melbourne Park.

Like Raonic, his next foe’s game is built on a stinging serve: Marin Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion and twice a Grand Slam runner-up to Federer, including at the Australian Open two years ago.

The unseeded Cilic emerged with a second consecutive five-set win, getting past No. 9 Roberto Bautista Agut 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-0, 5-7, 6-3.

Federer now faces another unseeded opponent, Marton Fucsovics, who ended the surprising run of 22-year-old American Tommy Paul 6-1, 6-1, 6-4.

Earlier in the tournament, Fucsovics beat 20-year-old Shapovalov and 18-year-old Jannik Sinner.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic moved closer to a record eighth championship in Melbourne, and 17th Slam title overall, with a quick 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win against Yoshihito Nishioka.

Next for Djokovic is No. 14 Diego Schwartzman, a 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7) winner over No. 24 Dusan Lajovic.

The other matchup with a quarterfinal berth at stake on the bottom half of the men’s draw is 100th-ranked Tennys Sandgren against No. 12 Fabio Fognini.

Sandgren — whose best Grand Slam showing was a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open in 2018 — topped Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in an all-U.S. matchup.

Fognini beat No. 22 Guido Pella 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-3.

“He’s a character, man,” Sandgren said about Fognini. “What you see is what you get.”