Australian Open 2012 live stream

Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny has beaten talented Frenchman Richard Gasquet in a five-set, near five-hour thriller to progress to the second round of Australian Open 2010.
 
bet365 is live streaming all Australian Open 2010 games - Go to bet365 > Live Streaming > Tennis to watch a live stream

In front of an appreciative crowd at Margaret Court Arena, the pair slugged it out for four hours and 53 minutes before Youzhny prevailed 6-7(9) 4-6 7-6(2) 7-6(4) 6-4.

In a start indicative of the match to come, each player began with a flurry of groundstrokes from the first point – itself one of the best of the contest, a lengthy backhand rally finished exquisitely at the net by Gasquet.

Over the course of the match, an astonishing 172 winners were recorded, 91 to Youzhny and 81 to the unseeded Gasquet. Only seven points separated the pair across 293 minutes of play, Youzhny winning 187 points to Gasquet’s 180.
 
Both players exhibited one-handed backhands with great elegance, repeatedly passing the other with clean winners. The tight opening set was forced to a tie-breaker, which began with another sizzling backhand pass from Youzhny. But the Russian failed to capitalise on three set points, allowing Gasquet to climb back to take it 11-9.

The 23-year-old Gasquet, who received some intense support from a small army of French supporters, entered the tournament coming off a quarter-final appearance in Brisbane and a loss in the final of the Medibank International in Sydney, where he was defeated by Marcos Baghdatis. A former world No.7, the classy Frenchman’s 2009 was temporarily halted by a two-month drug-related suspension, explaining his current ranking of 52.

Up a break at 2-1 in the second set, Gasquet called a medical timeout and received treatment on his right side. Noticeably hampered from this point on, Gasquet returned, but his signature backhand was off-target. He somehow recovered, dug deep, and clinched the set 6-4.

With his back to the wall, the 20th-seeded Youzhny edged out the Frenchman over the next two sets, saving two match points in a marathon 67-minute fourth set to send the crowd into raptures and the tussle to a final set.

The two have form when it comes to marathon matches. The last time they met was the 2007 Davis Cup quarter-final, where Youzhny was able to scrape past Gasquet 8-6 in the fifth set. Perhaps motivated by that marathon triumph, it was the former world No.8 Youzhny who prevailed in the decider. Deep in the decider, the enigmatic Russian also called for the trainer as both players battled fatigue, and, in Gasquet’s case, the side injury that continued to impede his movement.
 
Youzhny, a 2008 quarter-finalist in Melbourne, eventually squeezed home, breaking Gasquet’s serve to end what will be remembered as a classic encounter.