Roddick loses epic match to Kohlschreiber

Philipp Kohlschreiber downed a frustrated Andy Roddick to move into the fourth round of the Australian Open after a titanic five-set struggle lasting until the early hours of Saturday morning in Melbourne.

German Kohlschreiber, the 29th seed, eliminated the 2003 US Open winner with a 6-4 3-6 7-6 (11/9) 6-7 (3/7) 8-6 triumph in just under four hours, finishing shortly after 2am local time.

Roddick, who launched a series of verbal assaults on chair umpire Emmanuel Joseph during the tense battle, served a career-high 42 aces.

However, Kohlschreiber himself sent down 32 winners on his serve and broke the weary American in the 14th game of the final set to secure the surprise win.

In an astonishing contest packed full of inspiring passing shots, Kohlschreiber racked up 104 winners to his opponent’s 79 and his blistering backhand won him a host of key points.

He required five match points, all on Roddick’s serve, before eventually securing a ticket to the next phase of the event.

The German, who reached the fourth round at Melbourne Park in 2005, will tackle 24th seed Jarkko Nieminen on Sunday for a place in the last eight of the year’s opening slam.

Roddick however must pack his bags and head home, although he could face a meeting with officials after his run-in with the umpire.

The American sixth seed refused to blame his short fuse on the night for his downfall, his earliest exit from the competition since his debut in 2002.

“I don’t think it had anything to do with it,” Roddick said.

“I came out and served aces after I got mad at his little section. If anything, I needed something to get inside of me.

“It was a long time between me talking to the umpire and when the match actually finished. I think it was pretty insignificant.”

Kohlschreiber believes the match could signal his arrival as a force in world tennis.

“Maybe (I’m) the new guy on the tour who likes to win more and more and win the dream to be a top-10 player,” he said.

“Yeah, I had a pretty nice start. I had to keep going and keep going and do my best for the tournament.”

Earlier on Friday, world number two Rafael Nadal put a slow start behind him to comfortably account for Frenchman Gilles Simon in their third-round match.

A quarter-finalist at Melbourne Park 12 months ago, the Spanish second seed trailed 2-5 in the opening set but proceeded to win the next nine games as he set himself on the way to a 7-5 6-2 6-3 victory.

Nadal was unsure of the reason behind his sluggish start, but pointed to his game plan.

“I know normally I start very hard, and today, well, I really don’t know,” Nadal said.

“I started the match without very good tactics I think.”

Daring French youngster Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Russian seeds Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny also booked places in the fourth round on Friday.

Tsonga, who upset British ninth seed Andy Murray in the opening round on Monday, has backed up that surprise result with two convincing victories since - the latest a 6-3 6-4 6-2 demolition of Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Tsonga grabbed early breaks in each of the first two sets to stamp himself on the contest, with Garcia-Lopez requiring treatment for an illness midway through the second set.

Fellow Frenchman and 23rd seed Paul-Henri Mathieu outlasted Austrian Stefan Koubek to claim a 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 7-5 8-6 triumph late in the evening.

Davydenko had little trouble brushing aside Marc Gicquel of France 6-3 6-2 6-3, setting up a fourth-round meeting with 14th seed Youzhny.

Youzhny hit an impressive 25 winners as he broke serve five times en route to a 6-2 6-4 6-2 win over Ivo Karlovic, but he was also well assisted by 42 unforced errors from the Croatian.

Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen, seeded 24th, made it a nightmare evening for the Americans, eliminating Mardy Fish in four sets on Margaret Court Arena.