Australian Open

Roger Federer took his time about this one -- needing 41/2 hours and five sets to advance at the Australian Open. There was never a letup in the tension. Starting when Federer was forced to rally before outlasting 49th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic 6-7 (5), 7-6 (1), 5-7, 6-1, 10-8 to reach the fourth round of the tournament he has won the last two years. That pushed back the night session two hours.

Venus Williams beat Sania Mirza in straight sets in the first night match. Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis went on court at 11:47 p.m. Saturday, the last scheduled match at Rod Laver Arena on Day 6, and Hewitt ripped a forehand winner on his fifth match point 4 hours, 45 minutes later. The Aussie set a record for the latest finish for a day's play at a Grand Slam, beating 2006 runner-up Baghdatis 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-3, and completing the marathon at 4:33 a.m. local time Sunday.

James Blake, seeded 12th, came back from down two sets, then from a double break in the fourth before beating veteran Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean 4-6, 2-6, 6-0, 7-6 (5), 6-2. No. 7 Fernando Gonzalez, who lost the Australian final last year to Federer, was ousted 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-1 by Croatia's Marin Cilic, who had never gone past the first round in three previous majors. Cilic, who called it his best performance, faces Blake next. Two of Russia's top 10 women also were ousted. No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by 18-year-old Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and No. 6 Anna Chakvetadze lost 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-2 to No. 27 Maria Kirilenko. Fourth-seeded Ana Ivanovic reached the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 28 Katarina Srebotnik.

Australian Open