Fourth seed Stan Wawrinka survived a tight battle against Andreas Seppi on Sunday at the Australian Open in Melbourne, moving into the quarter-finals with a 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 7-6(4) win on Margaret Court Arena.
"I think this match was the best match of the tournament so far," said Wawrinka, who was taken to five sets by Martin Klizan in the first round. "I know that my level is there, that physically I'm feeling good. So most important is to win, to still be in the tournament.
"I'm really happy to make the quarter-finals again. It's a big result. I'm going to enjoy tonight and get ready for the next one."
Both players lost their serve once in the opening set, but mainly traded routine service holds. The Swiss star found a new gear in the tie-break, winning the final six points to grab the opening set. Wawrinka and Seppi didn’t drop serve in the second set, but it was the fourth seed who once again came out on top in the tie-break to take a commanding two-sets lead.
Seppi had a chance to serve out the third set after breaking his opponent at 5-5, but was unable to capitalise on a set point opportunity. Wawrinka went on a five-point run in the tie-break to lead 6/3 and made good on his second match point to wrap up the win in two hours and 43 minutes.
"It was a tough and close match, that's for sure," said Wawrinka. "Three tie-breaks, almost three hours. It was very close.
"I think we both played really well. Tough conditions. Good conditions, but quite fast. So it was interesting to play against him. I think I found a good way how to be aggressive, to mix the speed on the court today on important points, important moments, and to take advantage of that.
"I'm really happy with the level and to have won in three sets."
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Next up for the 2014 Australian Open champion is the winner between No. 12 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Daniel Evans. Wawrinka leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Tsonga 4-3 and has won their past three matches. He also leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head with Evans 1-0, saving a match point in defeating the Brit in the third round of the 2016 US Open.