The great escape continued for Roger Federer at the Australian Open 2020 as he survived a thrilling five-setter to defeat Tennys Sandgren 6-4, 2-6, 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Federer saved seven match points en route to the semifinals but feels that he ‘does not deserve’ this victory as he got a bit lucky.
After the match, the Swiss maestro looked like he couldn’t believe what a turnaround he made in the match. The 38-year-old was embarrassed and astounded. He was not sure of how he managed to edge past the American and escape another five-setter scare in Melbourne.
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“I got incredibly lucky today”: Roger Federer
Federer’s voice was breaking while talking to Jim Courier in the post-match on-court interview. The 20-time Grand Slam champion was emotionally and physically exhausted after a 3 hour and 30 minutes of gruelling tennis.
The Basel native was also suffering from a groin injury, which affected his lower leg in the third set. However, Federer admitted that he ‘believes in miracles’ as he took an off-court medical timeout, which helped him to fight through the injury and win the match.
“You’ve got to get lucky sometimes. Those seven match points you are not under control. It might look that way but I was just hoping that maybe he was not going to smash the winner, to keep the ball in play, who knows what he’s thinking about? I got incredibly lucky today,” noted Federer.
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“I don’t deserve this one”: Federer
He further added: “As the match went on I started feeling better and the pressure went away and I just tried to play. Again, got a little luck to get the break. I think I served really well for most of the match, especially in the end. I don’t deserve this one but I’m standing here and I’m obviously very happy.”
The miracle man.
HOW did @rogerfederer do that? 👇 #AusOpenpic.twitter.com/FUpkqtFYl7
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 28, 2020
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The No.3 seed will next face the winner between defending champion Novak Djokovic and Milos Raonic in the last four at the Melbourne Park.