Stan Wawrinka's bid for a second Australian Open title in four years remains on track after the No.4 seed secured a straight-sets fourth-round victory over Andreas Seppi at Margaret Court Arena on Sunday.
Despite not dropping a set against the plucky Italian, Wawrinka was certainly made to earn his passage to a fourth Australian Open quarter-final as he had to negotiate three tiebreakers before finally winning 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4) in two hours and 43 minutes.
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Very little separated the pair throughout the three sets and only four breaks of serve (two each) were achieved for the match. But that suited Wawrinka as he managed to grind out a win by waiting for his moments in the tiebreakers.
With No.1 seed Andy Murray sensationally knocked out on Sunday by German surprise packet Mischa Zverev, following six-time champion Novak Djokovic's elimination last week, Wawrinka's task of winning a fourth major appears to have been made considerably easier.
![Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka reaches to play a forehand to Italy's Andreas Seppi.](/web/20170126110330im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/w/h/5/9/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtwgw1.png/1485075350281.jpg)
"It's a big surprise that's for sure. It shows that it's not so easy as we can think, or when we see the draw, to just win, keep winning all the time," he said.
"He [Muray] is No.1 in the world. He's been amazing last year, especially the way he finished the year by winning every tournament he was playing.
"But still, every match you have to enter the court, you have to fight. You play against some really strong player. It's tough to just win or be in the final in every tournament for any player."
Wawrinka insisted he didn't feel extra pressure to reclaim the throne at Melbourne Park now that the top two players are no longer in the way.
"I'm just in quarter-final. Again, it's big surprise that they not in the draw anymore, but my next match is the quarter-final. I'm not thinking about semi or final, that I will not have to play Andy or Novak. That's the last thing in my head," he said.
"So far I have a big match in the quarter-final. It's for sure opening the draw on the other side with Novak not here. It's going to be interesting to see who is going to get there."
Wawrinka will now face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals.
"Tsonga's always been there. Always been around the top 10. He was No.5 in the world. He made the final here. He made the semi-final in each grand slam. It's going to be just an interesting match," Wawrinka said.
For Seppi, Nick Kyrgios' conqueror in the second round, the result meant he was denied a maiden final-eight appearance at a grand slam and he has now bowed out at this stage of the Australian Open in three of the last five editions.
With a healthier tally of winners (52-37), including a marginal advantage in aces (17-12), and a superior percentage of points won on serve (74-65), Wawrinka did enough to stave off Seppi's challenge.
Seppi got off to the perfect start by breaking Wawrinka in the very first game and the three-time grand slam champ lost his cool as he threw his racket on the ground after Seppi held to take a 2-0 lead.
Wawrinka broke back in the sixth game to level things up at 3-3, but from there, other than Seppi being forced to deuce in the ninth game, neither player had troubles on serve as they set themselves up for the first of three tiebreakers.
Wawrinka grabbed the ascendancy by winning consecutive points on Seppi's serve to take a 5-2 lead and a one-set lead shortly after.
The arm wrestle continued deep into the second set, before Wawrinka brought up three break points at 5-5. However, some smart and strong play saw Seppi save them all as he eventually held serve before a dominant Wawrinka service game forced a second tiebreaker.
Very little continued to separate the two in the second-set tiebreaker but after being locked at 4-4, Wawrinka once again produced the goods when it mattered most as he won the next three points to take a commanding two-set lead.
Serve continued to dictate proceedings in the third set until the eighth game when, up 4-3, Wawrinka brought up two break points which were both saved by Seppi. The 2014 champion looked to have converted the second one when Seppi appeared to hit one wide. However, the chair umpire ruled it to be good, the point was replayed and, after four deuces, Seppi levelled things up at 4-4.
Three games later, a powerful 154km/h forehand winner from Seppi broke Wawrinka's serve and gifted the world No.89 a 6-5 lead.
That set up an epic 12th game which saw Seppi bring up a set point. Sensing the urgency of the situation, Wawrinka lifted and after wasting two break points, he converted the third to send the pair into yet another tiebreaker.
After starting the third tiebreaker by slamming a straightforward smash into the net, Seppi pulled away from Wawrinka to take a 3-1 lead.
This sparked the fourth seed into gear and he responded by winning the next four points, including a pair of blistering backhand winners, to bring up three set points. After squandering one, Wawrinka sealed the victory with a magnificent backhand return to claim the tiebreaker 7-4.