Marat Safin comically claims to have 'killed Roger Federer's confidence' at Aus Open

World No.3 Roger Federer was on the brink of elimination from the quarter-final stage of the Australian Open after being down by two sets against unseeded American Tennys Sandgren. The Swiss ace though made a miraculous comeback and managed to register 6-3, 2-6, 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-3 win. The victory was even more stunning for the fact that he saved seven match points against his rival. This was Federer's second five-set encounter this year in Melbourne, having survived against Australian John Millman in the third round in a similar fashion as well.

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Australian Open: Roger Federer comeback 

After being down by two sets, Federer managed to hold on to his serve against Tennys Sandgren. In the ninth game, Tennys Sandgren managed to break Federer to take a 5-4 lead and was on the cusp of the greatest victory of his career. With Federer serving to save the match at 4-5, the unseeded Tennys Sandgren had three match points, but the unforced errors by Sandgren allowed Federer to claw back and eventually tie the match at 6-6 with a forehand winner.

Also Read: Nick Kyrgios Warned By Marat Safin To Stop 'joking Around In Court Like An 18-year-old'

The set eventually moved to a tie-break and it was Federer who struggled to hand Sandgren a 4-3 mini-break advantage. At 6-3, Sandgren once again had three match points, but Federer shockingly erased all of them to level the scores. On the seventh match point, Sandgren hit a sliced backhand into the net. Federer earned a set point of his own at 8-7, but the American erased it with an ace. Federer secured a 9-8 lead before the American pulled an overhead shot wide. 

Also Read: Roger Federer Nearly Loses To American Player In Grand Slam Since Andre Agassi In 2001

Australian Open: Marat Safin holds himself accountable for killing Roger Federer confidence 

Roger Federer had to dig deep to register a third-round victory against John Millman. The Swiss legend registered a hard-fought 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 4-6 7-6 (10-8) win that lasted for 4 hours and 3 minutes. Two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin though held himself accountable for Federer’s struggle against Millman.

Before the match, Marat Safin and Roger Federer hit some balls together during Federer’s warm-up session. According to a report in Essentially Sports, Safin said he was worried at the end of the day because he killed Federer's confidence at the practice and Federer almost lost against Millman. He also added that he felt a little bit guilty and will also apologise to him.

Safin promised to do his job better next time. Federer would hope that Safin does not prove to be unlucky for him ahead of Thursday's semifinal against Novak Djokovic. Interestingly, the Russian had defeated Roger Federer in the Australian Open 2005 semifinal and went on to win the title that year by defeating home favourite Lleyton Hewitt in the final.

Also Read: Roger Federer Saves 7 Match Points To Stay Alive At Australian Open; Watch Video

Australian Open: Roger Federer to face Novak Djokovic

Roger Federer now remains unbeaten (15-0) in the quarter-finals at this event. He will next face second-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic who beat No. 32 seed Milos Raonic of Canada in his quarterfinal match. Federer trails Djokovic 23-26 in their rivalry and has lost their past three matches in Melbourne, all of which took place in the semi-finals (2008, 2011, 2016).