IT WAS NEARLY “Bye, Simona” but the top seed showed the knack of a world No 1 to claim an incredible victory.
Simona Halep saved three match points in the titanic, 142-minute final set of an amazing clash with world No 76 Lauren Davis before winning 4-6 6-4 15-13.
Halep, still nursing the ankle she injured her ankle in her first-round win, said: “I’m almost dead.
“I feel that my muscles are gone and I don’t know how my ankle is because I don’t feel it anymore.
“I’ve never played a third set that long before.
“But it was nice to win this match, to be on this court and to be in the fourth round of this tournament.”
Halep and Davis served up the best match of the Aussie Open so far. This was a high quality, dramatic duel which equalled the record number of games for a women’s match in Melbourne (48)and lived up to the Shakespearean phrase,”though she be but little, she is fierce”.
The world No 1 herself stands only 5ft 6in in a world of increasingly tall players. Davis is just 5ft 2in but also punches well above her weight.
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The petite American went toe-to-toe with Halep, who is regarded as one of the fittest, if not THE fittest, players on the women’s tour.
Davis played the world No 1 at her own game, pushing her around the court and chasing down every ball to make her play one more shot.
The pair traded breaks of serve midway through the opening set, but then Davis struck in the 10th game to claim the set.
When Halep broke Davis early in the decider, it seemed likely she would ease to victory, but the American would not go away.
Davis broke back in a titanic sixth game, only to fall behind again. But still she fought on, breaking the Halep serve THREE times as the Romanian served for the match at 5-4, 6-5 and 8-7.
Full credit to Halep, though. She showed huge guts and composure to save three match points from 0/40 down in the 22nd game.
Davis then had treatment on her right foot before saving five more break points in the next game. At 13-12 up, her left foot required attention.
During Halep and Davis’ deciding set, No 6 seed Karolina Pliskova had the time to start and comfortably finish a 7-6 7-5 win over Czech compatiriot Lucie Safarova.
And No 8 seed Caroline Garcia emerged as the winner of the second match in the Margaret Court Arena while the first in the Rod Laver Arena continued, the Frenchwoman beating Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3 5-7 6-2.
Earlier Madison Keys, the only US Open semi-finalist to make it out of the first round, had also reached the last 16 with a 6-3 6-4 win over Romania’s Ana Bogdan.
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