Andreas Seppi has edged past Ivo Karlovic on Friday in five sets, ending the veteran Croatian’s hopes of a 50th Grand Slam match-win with a 6-3 7-6(4) 6-7(3) 6-7(5) 9-7 victory in three hours and 51 minutes.
The Italian – a relative veteran himself at 33 – is no stranger to marathons at Hisense Arena, having been involved in lengthy battles against Aussie No.1 Nick Kyrgios over the past two years – splitting the honours.
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“Always on this court I am playing a five-setter,” Seppi said afterwards. “It was a long match and very difficult, also mentally it was very tough, but I am happy now.”
“Hopefully I can go one step further. We’ll see.”
Despite briefly slipping out of the top 100 in 2017 for the first time in nearly 10 years, Seppi, a former world No.18, arrived in Melbourne on the back of an ATP Challenger title in Canberra and building in confidence.
The pair last met in Vienna in 2015, where Karlovic prevailed in straight sets, but on paper, there seemed very little to separate them – five sets seemed almost inevitable.
Karlovic, the oldest man in the Australian Open draw this year at nearly 39 years of age, was also bidding to become the oldest to reach the fourth round of a major since Jimmy Connors at the 1991 US Open. However, this seemed unlikely to unfold as he started the match slowly, appearing sapped from another grueling five-set encounter in the previous round.
Seppi pounced and snatched the first set away from the Croat in just 30 minutes, but the match then settled with Karlovic doubling his ace count in each of the following sets and appearing to do better physically – as a result, giving his Italian opponent very little to work with.
It took tiebreakers in both sets to decide the outcome – which they split one apiece.
The fourth set progressed in the same manner, with both players holding serve with remarkable ease. Seppi was keeping things simple, not allowing much room for anything to go wrong, while Karlovic looked to be conserving energy and keeping points as short as possible. The match reached yet another tiebreaker, which was again won by the Croat.
The deciding set followed the same plot, with neither player giving an inch, but it was Seppi who created an opening at 5-4 with some exceptional returns. A single match point was snuffed out with a Karlovic ace (he had an incredible 52 for the match, exceeding 50 for the second consecutive time), and order was restored.
Once again, at 8-7, the Italian stepped up on return, hitting two scintillating winners to open up a double chance. This time, he was not to be denied, whooping with joy as a Karlovic volley was netted.
Seppi, who ousted Roger Federer from the tournament in 2015, has now reached the round of 16 for the second consecutive year in Melbourne. He will face Brit Kyle Edmund, a five-set winner over Nikoloz Basilashvili earlier in the day, in a bid to reach a first-time Slam quarterfinal after 52 consecutive starts, the third-longest active streak at the majors.
