Australian Open 2020: Roger Federer shows his masterclass to defeat spirited Sandgren in a marathon quarterfinal

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Third seed Roger Federer defeated Tennys Sandgren of the USA in a thrilling five-set quarterfinal of Australian Open 2020.

The background

After comfortable victories in the first and second round, six-time Australian Open Champion Federer won a five-set marathon match against the persistent John Millman in the third round.

The Swiss ace lost the opening set to Marton Fucsovics in the 4th Round. However, he was back in his groove in the next three and defeated the Hungarian player 4-6 6-1 6-2 6-2. With this victory, the 38-year-old stormed into the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the fifteenth time.

Unseeded Tennys Sandgren also had a stellar run heading into the all-important quarterfinal clash. After defeating Marco Trungelliti in the first round, the Gallatin-born player upset 8th seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy in an exhausting five-set encounter in the second round.

The ironically named Tennys then won the all-American match against Sam Querrey in the third round before ousting Italy's Fabio Fognini in the fourth round to set up the blockbuster quarterfinal clash against Roger Federer. This was only his second quarterfinal in the Australian Open.

The heart of the matter

Federer was unquestionably the favourite to win the quarterfinal at the Rod Laver Arena. However, the USA's Tennys had had a stellar run in the tournament and was extremely positive in his approach.

The world number 3 was at his best and won the first set 6-3 to put pressure on his lower-ranked opponent.

What transpired next was startled everyone, including Federer. Roger made quite a few groundstrokes errors and Tennys capitalized on this, breaking the legend twice in the second set. Sandgren made the most of this and won the 2nd set 6-2.

The American further mounted pressure on Federer by winning the third set 6-2. During the third game of the third set, Federer, who was clearly not at his 100%, felt a strain in his groin. He had to take a medical time-out at this juncture. The niggle was possibly the reason for Federer's poor show in the second and third sets. The off-court treatment lasted a total of 9 minutes before the legend jogged back on court.

Regardless, by now, the tide had completely shifted in the favour of Tennys. A visibly frustrated Federer even received a warning from chair umpire Marijana Veljovic for cussing when he was a break down early during the third set.

Sandgren used his booming serves to great effect and the way he was playing, it seemed like Federer might crumble in the fourth set as well.

However, the veteran showed his resistance in the fourth set. Roger remained in contention but Sandgren also held his serve. The score was level at 4-4. Despite Federer holding on, it seemed unlikely he would break the American as he was just serving too well.

The atmosphere was electric when Tennys held his serve once again and broke into a 5-4 lead. The 28-year-old even got a match point in the next game but Federer's resilience induced an error. The fans at Rod Laver Arena were delighted and heaved a sigh of relief when Federer persevered and drew level at 5-5.

Sandgren displayed his best tennis in the 2nd and 3rd sets

Sandgren's consistency with his serves was remarkable but he too was feeling the pressure of the ocassion in the next game. Federer had a breakpoint but the American somehow kept his cool to save it and forced deuce. The crowd was clearly getting behind Federer and Tennys' dip to the finish line was not going to be as easy as one may have assumed after the third set.

The pristine serving came to his rescue yet again as the world number 100 took a 6-5 lead. Federer showed his experience and leveled the encounter at 6-6. It was tiebreak time!

Sandgren edged in front and took a 2-1 lead in the tie break. Federer rallied on to make it 6-6 in the tiebreak. The encounter was surely not for the faint-hearted.

Sandgren was extremely close to the biggest result of his life. He had another match point when he led 7-6 in the tiebreak. Federer made it 7-7. A 19-shot baseline exchange ensued in the next point and the crowd at the Rod Laver Arena erupted as Roger broke into the lead.

Sandgren's fine serve made it 8-8. Federer forced the mini-break yet again. The legend ensured he made no faults next and won the tiebreak 10-8. We were headed for another five-set thriller.

Federer took a 2-1 lead in the fifth set. The veteran was back at his best and but Sandgren was not going to let him have it so easy after making it this far. The American was relentless and held his serve in the next game to make it 2-2.

It was the kind of match that tested every sinew of Tennys Sandgren. He had a massive 7 match point opportunities overall but could not convert any of them - setting him off on an emotional rollercoaster. The fifth set was all a matter of patience.

Federer showed his class and broke Sandgren to take a 4-2 lead. He held his serve to make it 5-2 in his favour in a massive turnaround of events. Sandgren held his serve in the next game to make it 5-3 but the real challenge was to break Federer in the next.

He threw everything that he had to take a 30-15 lead in the game. However, the Swiss ace came back strongly to make it 40-30 in his favour. Federer took his first match point and it was heartbreak for Sandgren.

This is the 22nd time Federer has come from match point down and gone on to win the match. In the post-match interview, Federer said,

"I believe in miracles. Incredibly lucky today and might as well make the most of it."

In a physically and emotionally exhausting match, Federer's perseverance helped him defeat a spirited Sandgren 6-3, 2-6, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8), 6-3.

What's next?

Roger Federer will now be locking horns with either 2nd seed Novak Djokovic or Milos Raonic of Canada in the semi-final match.