Australian Open: Santoro storms into fourth round

Out-of-sorts Gaudio wilted in scorching heat and was beaten 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 1-6, 6-4 by Santoro in the third round.

Out-of-sorts eighth seed Gaston Gaudio wilted in scorching heat and was beaten 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 1-6, 6-4 by Frenchman Fabrice Santoro in the third round of the Australian Open on Friday.

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Both players appeared to suffer badly as temperatures hovered around 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) on Vodafone Arena at Melbourne Park, with unseeded Santoro sitting swathed in ice packs during changeovers in the fourth and fifth sets.

Gaudio, the 2004 French Open champion, looked uncomfortable and sluggish early and was on the brink of a straight-sets defeat before staging an incredible fightback as the Frenchman wilted in the heat in a match lasting almost four hours.

However, the 33-year-old Santoro earned the decisive break in 10th game of the final set to reach the fourth round of a grand slam for only the fourth time since he turned professional in 1989.

He faces 11th seed David Ferrer of Spain in the next round.