Stan Wawrinka has coughed up three match points before losing in five sets to Márton Fucsovics in a thrilling second-round encounter at the Australian Open.
Key points:
- Fucsovics defeated Wawrinka 7-5, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 7-6 (11-9)
- Wawrinka had three match points when leading 9-6 in the tiebreak
- Dominic Thiem beat Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 6-0, 6-2
Wawrinka, the 2014 men’s champion, forced a deciding set against Fucsovics on John Cain Arena on Wednesday after earlier trailing two sets to love.
The fifth set went to a tiebreak and the 17th-seeded Wawrinka appeared headed for victory when he led his Hungarian opponent 6-1.
He held the three match points in the tiebreak when leading 9-6, but the unseeded Fucsovics reeled off five consecutive points to clinch victory after three hours and 59 minutes on court.
Fucsovics triumphed 7-5, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 7-6 (11-9).
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It was Fucsovics’s second five-set match of the tournament, having beaten Australian Marc Polmans in the first round.
“Right now, I feel like I’m dying,” Fucsovics said in his on-court interview.
Wawrinka had cruised past Pedro Sousa in the opening round but faced a far greater challenge in Fucsovics.
The Swiss fought out the third set, then ripped his way through the fourth to set up a dramatic finish.
In the fifth set, Fucsovics broke Wawrinka’s serve while leading 4-3, only to be immediately broken back when serving for the match the next game, with the contest ultimately decided by the dramatic tiebreak.
Fucsovics will face 14th seed Milos Raonic in the third round after the Canadian beat Corentin Moutet 6-7 (1/7), 6-1, 6-1, 6-4.
In other results in the men’s draw, third seed Dominic Thiem produced a clinical display in defeating Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.
The US Open champion, who was runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park last year, will meet either Nick Kyrgios or Ugo Humbert in the third round.
Eighth seed Diego Schwartzman comfortably accounted for Alexandre Miller 6-2, 6-0, 6-3.
The Argentine has set up a clash with Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev, who beat Egor Gerasimov 6-0, 6-1, 6-0.
Canadian 20th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the third round by knocking out Australian James Duckworth in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.
Auger-Aliassime’s victory sets him on a collision course with the winner of the match between Denis Shapovalov and Bernard Tomic.
AAP/ABC
