Four-time champion Roger Federer ended Andy Murray’s Australian Open hopes with a dramatic win in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, reports bbc.
The Swiss, 32, won 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (6-8) and 6-3 in three hours and 20 minutes to set up a semi-final against world number one Rafael Nadal.
Federer had been on the verge of wrapping up a faultless three-set performance but failed to serve out the match, and then missed two match points in the tie-break.
Murray was fighting to stay alive in only his second tournament since back surgery, and saved six break points in a marathon 19-minute game early in the fourth set.
But the Scot was constantly playing catch-up and eventually he could no longer hang on, as Federer brought his man into the net at 4-3 and flipped a backhand past the 26-year-old for the decisive break. “I was proud of the way I fought,” said Murray.