Reprising Houdini act, Federer scrapes through against Sandgren

Switzerland’s Roger Federer reacts during his match against Tennys Sandgren - Reuters

MELBOURNE (Reuters): Roger Federer performed his second Houdini act of this year’s Australian Open on Tuesday, saving seven match points en route to a nerve-wracking 6-3 2-6 2-6 7-6(8) 6-3 comeback victory over American world number 100 Tennys Sandgren.

Friday’s third-round win against local hope John Millman, when the 20-times Grand Slam champion won six straight points from 8-4 down in the final set tiebreaker, was touted as the great escape.

His quarter-final victory four days later was more epic still.

Millman had a world ranking under 50 and had at least defeated the Swiss before, at the 2018 US Open.

But Sandgren had never faced Federer, who in turn had never lost to someone as lowly-ranked as the American at Melbourne Park.