MELBOURNE, Australia — Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam titles could be equaled by Rafael Nadal at this Australian Open. But Federer’s own run here nearly ended before that could happen, at the hands of a player considerably further down the pantheon of greats. Tennys Sandgren, a Tennessean ranked 100th, had seven match points in the fourth set of his quarterfinal match against third-seeded Federer on Tuesday afternoon, but Federer staved off each one, ultimately hanging on for a 6-3, 2-6, 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-3 victory in Rod Laver Arena. “You’ve got to get lucky sometimes, I tell you that,” Federer said in his on-court interview. Sandgren made unforced errors on five of the seven match points, including two prolonged exchanges that ended on the 19th shot of a rally.

Source: New York Times January 28, 2020 10:07 UTC