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Wednesday, 25 January 2006 |
Nicolas Kiefer beats Sebastien Grosjean in epic match at Australian Open
German tennis player Nicolas Kiefer reached his first major semi-final
at the Australian Open when he was victorious over Sebastien Grosjean
6-3 0-6 6-4 6-7 (1-7) 8-6, beating him in a truly epic match.
Nicolas Kiefer took the opener from Sebastien Grosjean but lost his
focus and the Frenchman levelled - a pattern the match followed in the
next two sets.
Bad tempers and spectacular shots filled the game but Nicolas Kiefer finally won after four hours and 48 minutes.
Nicolas Kiefer will now meet Roger Federer or Nikolay Davydenko.
The final set was dramatic and, after two early breaks cancelled each other out, Nicolas Kiefer provided the first flashpoint.
The 21st seed had an argument with the umpire, accusing him of making a
"stupid" line call, and received a third code violation while Sebastien
Grosjean broke for a 4-3 lead.
Nicolas Kiefer immediately broke back and it was soon time for Sebastien Grosjean to argue with the umpire.
And Nicolas Kiefer, thinking that he had lost the point, threw down his racquet as Sebastien Grosjean was still playing.
But the French player dumped his volley into the net and Nicolas Kiefer was awarded the point, taking him to deuce at 6-5 up.
Sebastien Grosjean called for the referee and after a lengthy protest, went on to hold.
But Nicolas Kiefer got the better of him and carved out a second match
point with a delicate lob and wrapped up the match as the 25th seed
netted the ball.
The match could truly be described as epic and was the longest at the
tournament since Boris Becker and Omar Camporese played for five hours
11 minutes back in 1991.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 30 January 2006 )
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