Kei Nishikori defeats Ivo Karlovic in thriller at Australian Open
Thursday 17 January 2019 09:08, UK
Kei Nishikori came within a whisker of second-round elimination against evergreen Ivo Karlovic at the Australian Open before winning a pulsating final set tie-break.
Giant Croatian Karlovic turns 40 next month and his first-round victory over Hubert Hurkacz made him the oldest man to win a main draw singles match at the Australian Open since Ken Rosewall in 1978.
He threatened to back it up with an upset of eighth seed Nishikori, coming back from two sets down to force a deciding set, which went all the way to a first-to-10-points tie-break.
Karlovic was a mini-break up at 7-6 but Nishikori won successive points against the serve to triumph 6-3 7-6 (8-6) 5-7 5-7 7-6 (10-7) despite his opponent sending down 59 aces.
"It was a tough match which could have gone both ways. He almost had it for sure," said Nishikori, a three-time quarter-finalist at Melbourne Park.
Nishikori next faces Joao Sousa of Portugal for a place in the last 16 after he defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-4, while also in the Japanese's quarter, potential fourth-round opponents Pablo Carreno-Busta and Fabio Fognini advanced with straight-sets victories.
There was another epic contest on Rod Laver Arena as Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic met in another of the high profile second round matches - and it was Canada's 16th seed Raonic who prevailed.
Having already seen off Nick Kyrgios, Raonic has been handed a tough draw with the 2016 champion next in his path and despite their fair share of injury troubles over the last few years they put on a gruelling contest that featured four sets that all went the distance and a match that lasted 4hrs 1min in total.
Raonic, beaten in the first round last year but at least a quarter-finalist in the previous three years including a 2016 semi-final, battled back to secure a 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (13-11) 7-6 (7-5) triumph.
For Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion, he was pleased to be getting back to his best on the biggest stage.
"It's frustrating to lose, especially in a match with four tie-breaks. I'm happy if I look the big picture. I'm happy with my level, the way I was moving, the way I'm playing in general. I think he also played really well.
"I want to win more matches. Again, if I take some distance, see a little bit everything I've done the last few months to get at that level, I'm quite happy - I'm looking forward for the rest of the year."
He will face Frenchman Pierre Hugues Herbert in the third round after he upset 24th seed Hyeon Chung 6-2 1-6 6-2 6-4 while 11th seed Borna Coric is also through after a straight sets win over Marton Fucsovics in will face Filip Krajinovic after the Serb accounted for Evgeny Donskoy.
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