Britain's Jack Draper is through to the round of 16 at the Australian Open for the first time in his career after fighting back to beat home favourite Aleksandar Vukic in a five-set marathon.
In a match that lasted four hours and went past midnight local time in Melbourne, 15th-seed Draper was on the brink of a third-round exit but won tightly-contested tiebreaks in both the fourth and fifth sets to take the 6-4, 2-6, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) victory.
Cheered on by a rowdy home crowd, Vukic was 2-1 up in sets thanks to a dazzling display full of winners, but Draper continued to defend valiantly right into the closing moments.
He has now made it through three straight five-set matches in Melbourne and will take on world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in the next round.
Draper, looking to follow up his fairytale run to the US Open final at his last Grand Slam in September, started the match in style by winning four games on the bounce to take the opening set.
But unseeded Australian Vukic then took five games in a row himself to claim the second set. A levelled match then swung in his favour when a frustrated Draper double-faulted in the 11th game of the third set to hand his opponent a crucial break.
In a back-and-forth fourth set, Draper saw three break point opportunities go begging before critically winning the tiebreak.
The deciding set also went the distance, despite an early break for Draper and four opportunities for a second. Vukic again rallied and would break the Brit's serve to restore parity.
The final set tiebreak was also, suitably, topsy-turvy with Draper going 3-0 up before Vukic responded. But eventually Draper saw off Vukic via a huge serve on his second match point.
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