No. 1 Novak Djokovic moved through to the quarterfinals at the 2013 Australian Open, but it took a five-hour, five-set battle with Stanislas Wawrinka to get there. Djokovic wrapped up the round-of-16 victory on Sunday morning in the United States, but the final match of the day at Rod Laver Arena went deep into the night in Melbourne.
Novak Djokovic defeats Stanislas Wawrinka with amazing match point
The No. 1 player in the world was pushed to the limit by Stanislas Wawrinka, but finally advanced with a 12-10 win in the fifth set.
Julian Finney
Djokovic had not lost a set in his first three matches, but Wawrinka ended that streak early by taking the opening set, 6-1. Novak stormed back to take the next two sets, but Wawrinka won a fourth-set tiebreak to take it to a fifth and final set. Both players pushed it to limit, before Djokovic finally won it with a crosscourt backhand.
The final point was characteristic of the back-and-forth five-hour march, but Djokovic finally put it past Wawrinka as he moved up to the net. Video of the match point winner:
Both players were obviously exhausted, and a relieved Djokovic celebrated by ripping off his shirt and saluting the crowd who stayed late to watch him survive and advance.
Djokovic will now face Tomas Berdych in the quarters. While Novak needed five sets to move on, Berdych has advanced with straight-set victories in all four of his matches.
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