While big names dropped like flies on day six, the defending champion drew on all his big-match experience to fight off world No 49 Janko Tipsarevic 6-7, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1, 10-8. It took him a shade under four and a half hours to repel the Serb and breathe new life into his bid for a 13th Grand Slam crown.

“What a great battle,” the world number one said. “This is where you get grey hair early in life. Pity for him, but what a great victory for me.”

At times, Federer had looked down and out, sluggish, heavy on his feet and struggling for motivation.

“I thought I was in great shape winning the fourth set and just tried to stay with him,” he said. “He was just going for his shots and kept making them. In the end, I just tried to block out all the chances I missed.”

Federer’s ability to conjure victory from thin air was in stark contrast to women's second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova’s feeble 6-3, 6-4 capitulation to Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska.

“It’s pretty simple. I think I beat myself up out there, so I didn’t do much right things,” the Russian world number two said. “I was not playing against her, I was playing against me.

“I wasn't doing the right things and I lost the match — playing like this I deserved to lose.”

Sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze also deserved to lose.  She was beaten 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 by her former club-mate and fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko.

“The last few times I lost (to) her, both in Indian Wells, I got really pissed, you know,” Kirilenko told reporters. “Oh, my God, I beat her every time and now I'm losing.”

Last year’s men's runner-up Fernando Gonzalez of Chile suffered a 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 6-1 upset loss to Croatian teenager Marin Cilic. The seventh seed simply could not contain the youngest man left in the draw who bombarded him with a barrage of 60 winners.

“Today I was playing probably the best match of my life,” the 19-year-old Cilic said in a courtside interview.

Fortunate
“I was fortunate that we were playing indoors, it helped me a lot, with my serve. It was a little bit faster and I played a great match today.”

Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic cruised into the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 win over unseeded American Sam Querrey. He has still not lost a set in the tournament. Compatriot and women’s fourth seed Ana Ivanovic secured a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win over Katerina Srebotnik, needing just one break of serve in each set.

In a late match, home favourite Lleyton Hewitt defeated Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3 in a titanic third-round clash. The match ended at 4.33 am on Sunday, the latest finish at a grand-slam event.

Results (III round, prefix denotes seeding): Men: 19-Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) beat 15-Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-3; 13-Tomas Berdych (Cze) bt 21-Juan Monaco (Arg) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2; 1-Roger Federer (Sui) bt Janko Tipsarevic (Serb) 6-7 (7-5), 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 6-1, 10-8; 3-Novak Djokovic (Serb) bt Sam Querrey (US) 6-3, 6-1, 6-3; Marin Cilic (Cro) bt 7-Fernando Gonzalez (Chi) 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-1; 12-James Blake (US) bt Sebastien Grosjean (Fra) 4-6, 2-6, 6-0, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.

Women: 8-Venus Williams (US) bt 31-Sania Mirza (Ind) 7-6 (7-0), 6-4; 4-Ana Ivanovic (Serb) bt 28-Katarina Srebotnik (Slo) 6-3, 6-4; 27-Maria Kirilenko (Rus) bt 6-Anna Chakvetadze (Rus) 6-7 (6-8) 6-1, 6-2; 29-Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol) bt 2-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) 6-3, 6-4.