Roger Federer flirted with danger before squeaking past unseeded nemesis Gilles Simon 6-2 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-3 to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Federer had lost both his previous two meetings against Simon, but the 16-times grand slam winner had the measure of the Frenchman on a chilly night in Melbourne — just.
“Today I got lucky. But it’s all about staying alive and moving on,” defending champion Federer told.
“I really enjoyed myself tonight,” the second seed added, perhaps a little untruthfully after twanging 53 unforced errors, many of them horribly shanked forehands.
Federer caught fire early, the Swiss master ripping a forehand down the line to break in the third game and dictate the tone for the first two sets.
With a tormented Simon stalking along the baseline between points cursing his misfortune, it looked all but over after 68 minutes of one-way traffic. But he bravely clawed his way back onto level terms as Federer’s magic suddenly deserted him.
Federer, tension etched all over his face, demonstrated nerves of steel, however, just when it looked as though Superman had left the building.
The 29-year-old, who holds an astonishing 165-0 record after winning the first two sets, threaded a forehand down the line to break for 4-2 in the fifth set. With wife Mirka barely able to watch after he frittered away four match points, Federer finally ended a tortuous three hours and 14 minutes by drilling an 11th ace deep into the corner.
{{/usCountry}}The 29-year-old, who holds an astonishing 165-0 record after winning the first two sets, threaded a forehand down the line to break for 4-2 in the fifth set. With wife Mirka barely able to watch after he frittered away four match points, Federer finally ended a tortuous three hours and 14 minutes by drilling an 11th ace deep into the corner.
{{/usCountry}}Djokovic finds the going tough
Novak Djokovic had to work overtime for his four-set win over Croatian Ivan Dodig.
The in-form Serb was always expected to be too good for the 81st-ranked Dodig, but was a fraction off his game and struggled to quell his spirited opponent before eventually winning 7-5, 6-7 (8/10), 6-0, 6-2.
Andy Roddick had no such trouble, firing his 17th ace to finish off a 7-6 (7), 6-2, 6-3 win over Igor Kunitsyn of Russia.