Sports

AMMAN — Jordan’s U-23 football team has just concluded a training camp in Aqaba as the  squad starts preparations for qualifiers for the third edition of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship in 2018.

The national team is set to play a series of friendlies and hold training camps ahead of the qualifiers which are slated for July, bringing together 42 nations divided into 10 groups, with 16 advancing to the finals.

In 2016, Jordan was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship in Qatar. The Kingdom failed to make it to the top four and a possible Olympic slot, with the continent’s top three advancing to the Olympic Games football tournament in Rio de Janeiro, which was won by Brazil.

In the inaugural AFC U-22 Championship in 2014 (now renamed the AFC U-23 Championship), Jordan took third place when they beat South Korea, while Iraq won the title after defeating Saudi Arabia.

In 2015, Jordan’s U-23 squad was eliminated from the 1st West Asian U-23 Championship, and in 2014, the line-up represented Jordan at the Asian Games, where they made it to the quarter-finals.

The younger squads are also training for their respective Asian qualifiers. The U-19 team, which qualified to the Asian Championship four times and previously reached the FIFA Youth World Cup in Canada in 2007, was last eliminated from the qualifying rounds of the 2016 Championship. Jordan finished fourth in 2006, but exited the group stages in 2008 and 2010 and reached the quarters in 2012. Jordan failed to qualify to the 2014 Championship as well. Similarly, the U-16 team is now steadily preparing for their Asian qualifiers. In 2015, the U-16 squad failed to advance to the 2016 AFC U-16 Asian Championship.

James Harden had 51 points, 13 assists and 13 rebounds as the Houston Rockets beat the Philadelphia 76ers 123-118 on Friday.

It was the 14th triple-double of the season for Harden and the 18th time he has accumulated over 30 points and 10 assists.

The latter is the highest single-season total since such numbers were first tracked in 1983-84, according to basketball-reference.com.

His points total was two off his season and career high of 53, against the New York Knicks on December 31.

Nene added a season-high 21 points for the Rockets, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Philadelphia rookie centre Joel Embiid, back after missing the three previous games with a bruised left knee, topped the Sixers with 32 points, one shy of his career high.

Pacers 115,
Kings 111 (OT)

Paul George scored six of his 33 points in overtime as Indiana rallied to defeat Sacramento in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

George’s basket with 31.8 seconds remaining broke a 111-111 tie and after Garrett Temple and Darren Collison each missed potential game-tying shots, Jeff Teague made two game-clinching free throws with 0.4 seconds to play.

Indiana improved to 3-18 when trailing after three quarters and 2-7 in the second game of a back to back.

Pelicans 119, Spurs 103

Jrue Holiday scored a team-high 23 points and had 11 assists, and Anthony Davis scored 16 points and grabbed 22 rebounds to power New Orleans to a victory over San Antonio in the Smoothie King Centre.

The victory for the Pelicans snapped the Spurs’ five-game winning streak, and it also ended San Antonio’s streak of five consecutive victories over the Pelicans. The 119 points were the most allowed by the Spurs this season.

Knicks 110, Hornets 107

Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 points apiece to lead New York to a win over Charlotte at Madison Square Garden.

Courtney Lee added 16 points for the Knicks, including crucial points in the fourth quarter. Brandon Jennings scored 15 points off the New York bench.

Kemba Walker, who was named as a reserve to the Eastern Conference All-Star team on Thursday, poured in 31 points for the Hornets (23-24).

Raptors 102, Bucks 86

Kyle Lowry scored 32 points and added six assists as Toronto ended a season-high five-game losing streak with a victory over Milwaukee.

Norman Powell added 19 points for the Raptors, who were without DeMar DeRozan (sprained right ankle). Patrick Patterson added 10 points while Jonas Valanciunas scored eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Cavaliers 124, Nets 116

LeBron James scored 31 points and passed for 11 assists, Kyrie Irving scored 28 points and Cleveland beat lowly Brooklyn, just its third win in its last nine games.

It was the fourth straight loss for the Nets and the 15th in their last 16 games.

Celtics 128, Magic 98

Isaiah Thomas scored 21 to notch his 30th consecutive 20-point contest as Boston blew out Orlando at TD Garden.

Thomas is 10 games shy of the Celtics’ franchise mark, set by John Havlicek. Jae Crowder added 19 points and rookie Jaylen Brown scored a career-high 20 and grabbed eight rebounds.

Heat 100, Bulls 88

Goran Dragic scored 26 points and had 11 assists as Miami cruised to a win over Chicago.

Heat centre Willie Reed scored 20 points in place of injured teammate Hassan Whiteside. Guard Dion Waiters added 19 points as Miami won its sixth game in a row.

Wizards 112, Hawks 86

Otto Porter Jr bounced back from a poor offensive night to score 21 points and grab 11 rebounds and sparked Washington to a win over Atlanta and pulled to within one-half game of fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

It was the largest margin of victory of the season for the Wizards, eclipsing their 25-point win at Boston on November 9.

Trail Blazers 112, Grizzlies 109

Damian Lillard scored 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Portland Trail Blazers to a 112-109 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at Moda Centre.

Lillard led five Trail Blazers who scored in double figures, including Allen Crabbe, who came off the bench for 23 points.

CJ McCollum had 18 points, Mason Plumlee 13 and Al Farouq Aminu 12 for Portland (21-27), which won their third straight game.

AMMAN — Jordan hosts the West Asian Basketball Association (WABA) Championship with an opening match against Syria on Sunday.

The Kingdom is joined by Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Iran in the six-team tournament hosted at Fuheis Club. The points system will decide the zone champion and the top four will qualify to the 29th Asia Cup, to be held in Lebanon in August.

Jordan first won the West Asia title in 2002. 

In 2016, Jordan beat Lebanon 83-82 to clinch second place at the WABA Championship and advanced alongside Iran and Iraq to the FIBA Asia Challenge, where they finished third.

In 2014, Jordan won the WABA title for the second time in the absence of both the Lebanese and senior Iranian teams, and represented the West Asia zone at the 5th FIBA Asia Cup where China, as well as defending FIBA Asia Championship title-holders Iran, had automatically qualified. The competition was previously known as the FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup between 2004 and 2010, and as the FIBA Asia Cup from 2012 to 2014. The champion was given an automatic berth to the following year’s FIBA Asia Championship. Qatar were champs in 2004, Jordan in 2008, Lebanon in 2010 and Iran in 2012, 2014, and 2016.

In 2010, Jordan finished second behind Iran and qualified to the 26th FIBA Asia Championship where, for the first time in the country’s history, Jordan reached the final but lost the chance to qualify directly to the 2012 Olympic Games after losing the final 70-69 to China. Jordan then played at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) for Men but lost to Puerto Rico and Greece and was eliminated. The OQT gave Asia’s second and third teams a chance to qualify to the London Games basketball event. 

Starting with 2017, the Asian Championships and the FIBA Oceania Championship will merge into one tournament to be known as the FIBA Asia Cup. It will be held every four years like the EuroBasket, AfroBasket and Americas Championship. The tournament will determine the composition of the joint FIBA Asia and FIBA Oceania qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup. During the FIBA Asia Central Board meeting in 2016, it was decided that the event is the first step in the process of identifying the qualifiers for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup (the new name of the Asian Championship), the first ever Continental Cup played jointly by teams from Asia and Oceania.

Although Jordan reached the World Championship in 2010, official support for Jordan’s second most popular game is seen as below par by most observers, leading to a decline in the game locally and less competitive advantage on the regional scene.

AMMAN — The national football team returned home in the weekend concluding a training camp in the UAE in preparation for qualifiers for the 2019 Asian Cup.

During the camp, Jordan played 121st ranked Georgia, beating them 1-0 in the first match under new head coach Emirati Abdullah Misfer.

As Jordan went down to 107th in the last FIFA Rankings, the draw for the final round of qualifiers for the 2019 Asian Cup put Jordan in Group C with Afghanistan, Vietnam and Cambodia. Misfer said all teams in the group had a valid chance.

“We will not take anything for granted. We seek to top the group to secure qualification and move to the continent’s finals.” However, he added, “winning comes through effort and performance, not expectations”.

This week, players will head back to clubs for the restart of the Jordan Professional Football League and the Jordan Cup, as Wihdat prepare to play the Asian Champions League preliminary round match on January 31 against India’s Bengaluru FC.

In the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup, Ahli were drawn to play in Group C alongside Iraq’s Zawra, Syria’s Jeish and a qualifier from Oman or Palestine starting February 20. 

MELBOURNE — Roger Federer held firm against a furious fightback from fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka, edging his former apprentice 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3 in a Melbourne Park classic to reach the final of the Australian Open on Thursday.

On the day the Williams sisters booked their place in the women’s final, 35-year-old Federer continued the march of the veterans, becoming the oldest man to reach a Grand Slam final in more than 40 years.

The Swiss master was shaken as fourth seed Wawrinka stormed back to level the match at a floodlit Rod Laver Arena but it was his opponent who blinked first in the tension-riven decider.

Wawrinka double-faulted to hand Federer the key break in the sixth game and four-times champion Federer rode a wave of adulation from the terraces to serve out the match to love.

One win from an 18th Grand Slam title and a first in five years, Federer also kept alive the chance of a dream final with great rival Rafa Nadal, who plays the second semifinal against 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov.

The Swiss will become the oldest men’s grand slam finalist since Ken Rosewall featured in the US Open in 1974 at the age of 39.

“It’s all real, I never thought in my wildest dreams I would come this far in Australia,” a glowing Federer said in his courtside interview, having come to Australia with no expectations after six months out of the game.

“I’ve got a couple of days off. It’s beautiful.

“I’m probably [Nadal’s] number one fan.

“I’m happy we’ve had some epic battles over the years.”

Federer had to close out the win with an upper leg injury and thanked the court’s physio for his “magic hands”.

But he moved superbly to deny his close friend Wawrinka a chance at a fourth Grand Slam title.

Magical moments

Friendship was shelved before the match, however, and Wawrinka kept the doyen of men’s tennis waiting before they walked silently to centre court.

It was a slow-burning start to their seventh Grand Slam encounter, but it sparked into life in a marathon fourth game as Wawrinka saved a trio of break points to grimly hold serve.

There were moments of magic, a regal Federer drop shot sliced high into the air from the baseline just cleared the net to flummox Wawrinka at 3-2.

Federer swapped wands, grabbing a fresh racket after new balls were called and wielded it to devastating effect in the 12th game, breaking Wawrinka’s serve to take the set when he hammered a forehand into the net.

Broken again to trail 4-2, Wawrinka lost the second set in just 31 minutes and hammered his racket into the court.

The barrel-chested Swiss decided to complete the job properly, snapping his racket in half over his knee.

His other knee had been bothering him before the match and he returned to the court with it strapped.

With new racket in hand, he began swinging with abandon and his peerless backhand began to sing.

A searing passing shot broke Federer’s serve in the fourth game and Wawrinka roared through the set in a furious salvo of power hitting.

Another smoking backhand passing shot smashed through Federer’s serve, and the Swiss lost a sixth straight game.

Wawrinka fired a string of huge serves to put the match on level terms and pounded his chest twice in a muted celebration.

Trading backhand blows like heavyweight boxers, the pair pounded away at each other in the fifth before Wawrinka’s serve crumbled.

The decisive double-fault sparked raucous cheers from the pro-Federer crowd and Federer roared to the finish, savouring the chance to add to his four Melbourne Park titles.

AMMAN — The competitive cycling season gets under way in Jordan on Friday with the first race of the year in the Dead Sea area, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

Organised by the Jordan Cycling Federation and starting from Wadi Mujib Bridge at 10am, more than 70 competitors will race on a route set through the Jordan Valley. The event is being held to mark the birthday celebrations of His Majesty King Abdullah.

Dion Waiters hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key in the final second, giving the lowly but suddenly hot Miami Heat a 105-102 upset of the NBA’s best team, Golden State Warriors, on Monday night at American Airlines Arena.

Waiters matched his career high with 33 points for the second consecutive game.

Golden State’s Kevin Durant tied the score with 11.7 seconds left on a baseline dunk, setting the stage for Waiters’ heroics with six-10ths of a second left.

The Warriors (38-7) had their seven-game win streak snapped. It was only Golden State’s fifth loss in regulation this season.

The Heat (15-30) have a season-best four-game win streak, as they completed a 4-0 homestand.

Clippers 115, Hawks 105

Things are looking up for Los Angeles, which won for the first time since losing Chris Paul to thumb surgery and is on the verge of getting Blake Griffin back.

Austin Rivers scored 27 points and Jamal Crawford helped hold off a comeback bid by Atlanta in the fourth quarter as the Clippers defeated the Hawks 115-105 on Monday night.

Crawford, who had been in a slump, hit a 3-pointer after Atlanta had pulled within 102-98 with three minutes left and followed with two more late baskets as he scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half.

Kings 109, Pistons 104

DeMarcus Cousins powered for 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Sacramento snapped a five-game losing streak with a victory over Detroit at The Palace.

The Kings own just two wins in their past 10 games, both against Detroit. Sacramento also ended a six-game losing streak at The Palace. Its last victory in Michigan occurred February 10, 2010.

Ty Lawson tied his season high with 19 points off the bench for the Kings. Sacramento also had four other players in double figures: Willie Cauley-Stein and Darren Collison supplied 12 points apiece, Garrett Temple chipped in 11 and Matt
Barnes added 10.

Spurs 112, Nets 86

Patty Mills scored 10 of his 20 points late in the first half when the short-handed Spurs took control, and San Antonio rolled to a rout of Brooklyn.

Mills missed five of his first six shots, and he returned to action when the Spurs trailed by one with about 5 1/2 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Mills helped the Spurs surge ahead to a 52-42 halftime lead in differing ways.

The reserve guard sandwiched two 3-pointers in a span of 2:15, and San Antonio’s lead never dipped into single digits again. Mills finished three shy of his season high by shooting 7 of 13 and making four 3-pointers.

Wizards 109, Hornets 99

John Wall scored 24 points and Markieff Morris added 23, and Washington rolled to a victory over Charlotte at the Spectrum Centre.

Wall outplayed Charlotte’s Kemba Walker in a head-to-head battle of All-Star hopeful point guards. He had 18 points in the first half, helping the Wizards pull out to a 12-point halftime lead. Walker scored 21 points but struggled, going 7 of 24 from the field.

The Wizards have now won five of their last six. They were in control throughout the game, leading by as many as 16 points in the third quarter and 15 midway through the fourth.

Bucks 127, Rockets 114

A late 11-0 run helped Milwaukee hold off Houston and a snap a five-game losing streak with a victory at the Bradley Centre.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points and Jabari Parker had 28 to lead the Bucks, who shot 58.2 per cent from the floor and made 11 of 23 3-point attempts.

Houston shot 50.6 per cent, making 39 of 76 shots, 14 of 35 3-point tries. Patrick Beverley (18 points) knocked down four from long distance, while Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon added three apiece.

Thunder 97, Jazz 95

Russell Westbrook drilled a jumper to break a tie with 1.4 seconds left as part of his 22nd triple-double of the season and lifted Oklahoma City to a victory over Utah.

Russell Westbrook had 38 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Oklahoma City snapped Utah’s six-game winning streak.

Knicks 109, Pacers 103

Carmelo Anthony hit a baseline jumper with 23.4 seconds remaining, and Courtney Lee sank four consecutive free throws during the final 15.1 seconds, leading New York to a victory against struggling Indiana.

Anthony led the Knicks with 26 points, Derrick Rose had 20 points and six assists, Indianapolis native Lee added 14, Willy Hernangomez scored 14 and Justin Holiday had 13.

Paul George led Indiana with 31 points and seven rebounds, Myles Turner had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Al Jefferson added 13 off the bench.

Pelicans 124,
Cavaliers 122

Terrence Jones, subbing for the injured Anthony Davis, tied his career high with 36 points and guard Jrue Holiday added a season-high 33 points and 10 assists to overcome a 49-point effort by Kyrie Irving and spark New Orleans to a victory over Cleveland at the Smoothie King Centre.

The Pelicans led by 20 points at halftime and by 17 two minutes into the fourth quarter, but they had to hold on for the victory as Irving led the Cavaliers back with 35 second-half points.

The loss was the sixth for the Cavaliers in their last 10 games.

MELBOURNE — Rafa Nadal returned to the Grand Slam big-time by weathering a furious Gael Monfils fightback to win 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and reach the Australian Open quarter-finals on Monday.

Former champion Nadal had not reached the last eight in a major since the 2015 French Open, so he celebrated wildly after closing out the two-hour 56-minute clash at a packed Rod Laver Arena.

It was not the most convincing of wins for the 30-year-old Spaniard, who became rattled when sixth seed Monfils rallied brilliantly in the third set and went up 4-2 in the fourth.

But Nadal summoned the resilience of his halcyon days to win four straight games and keep his pursuit of a 15th Grand Slam title alive.

Novak Djokovic may be absent after his shock second-round elimination, but third seed Milos Raonic looms as a massive roadblock to Nadal’s hopes of a First Grand Slam semifinal since winning his last french Open in 2014.

“For me, it means a lot because I really start the season playing quarter-finals in a Grand Slam again, especially on a hard court [and] after a couple of years without being in this round is great news,” ninth seed Nadal told reporters, still bathed in sweat after his work on a muggy evening.

“Very happy with an important victory against a very good opponent.

“When you lost the third [set], you are down 4-2 in the fourth, you are not under control, no. That’s the real thing.”

Monfils came into the match with a 12-2 losing record against Nadal and the flamboyant Frenchman started as if weighed down by the history.

He was broken early in each of the first two sets and made his plight worse with some bizarre shots and mystifying decision making.

He hammered a pair of blazing winners to save set points in the second set but threw it away with a dismal drop shot.

Nadal appeared on course to coast to a comfortable win but he came unstuck at 4-4 in the third set, double-faulting to hand Monfils a free point then pounding a forehand over the baseline.

Monfils clinched the set with a blazing forehand winner and strutted back to his chair with an index finger pointed at his temple.

Saving two break points and survived a marathon fourth game, an inspired Monfils pounding away at Nadal’s serve like a heavyweight boxer.

Nadal fired back with interest and it took a low blow for him to be broken when an unlucky net cord gave him no chance.

The Spaniard leapt to his feet to break back in the eighth game, however, pulling Monfils wide across court before slamming a two-hand backhand into the vacant corner to level at 4-4.

The roar from the crowd almost lifted the stadium’s closed roof and Nadal jumped high and pumped his fist in triumph.

The moment felt like a turning point and so it proved.

Monfils promptly crumbled on serve, bowing out on the second match point with a huge backhand that flew just wide of the line.

AMMAN  — The draw for the final round of qualifiers for the 2019 Asian Cup was held on Monday and put Jordan in Group C, alongside Vietnam, Afghanistan and Cambodia.

The rest of the groups are:

Group A: Kyrgyzstan, India, Myanmar and Macau.

Group B: North Korea, Hong Kong, Lebanon and Malaysia.

Group D: Oman, Palestine, Maldives and Bhutan.

Group E: Bahrain, Turkmenistan, Taiwan and Singapore.

Group F: Philippines, Tajikistan, Yemen and Nepal.

After putting behind elimination from 2018 World Cup qualifiers, Jordan is hopeful it will overcome the upcoming Asian qualifiers and advance to the Asian finals. Since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972, Jordan reached the Championship three times: the pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when it lost to Japan in the quarterfinals and jumped to the best ever FIFA rank of 37th in August 2004. They also reached the Asian Cup in 2011 and 2015.

The qualifiers which will start March 28 and end on March 27, 2018 will see teams playing in six groups with group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) advancing o the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals as well as the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + one slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup. 

Teams which already have qualified including Australia, China, Iraq, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Thailand, Uzbekistan and host the UAE.

The Kingdom’s national team, now in its final week of a training camp in the UAE, went down to 107th is the last FIFA Rankings. They are set to play 121st ranked Georgia in the first match under new head coach Abdullah Misfer.

Following the camp, players will head back to clubs for the restart of the Jordan Professional Football League and Jordan Cup, as well as, regional competitions for Wihdat and Ahli.

The national squad last played three friendlies in which they lost to Uzbekistan 1-0, held Iraq and Lebanon to a goalless draws. Earlier it lost to the Moroccan second tier team 2-1, drew 1-1 with Oman, 0-0 with Bahrain, 1-1 with Lebanon and lost to 3-2 to Qatar. The squad’s last tournament was the King’s Cup, an international football tournament organised in Thailand where Jordan beat the UAE 2-1, but lost 2-0 to the host in the final.

Observers have been scrutinising the national’s team’s plan over the past period as Jordan was eliminated from 2018 World Cup qualifiers. It has been a combination of inconsistent results and five coaches leading the vital qualifying process in crucial qualifiers. 

The Kingdom had the most memorable World Cup qualifying journey in 2013 when they lost a possible chance to play at the World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup. It lost the home game 5-0 and held the former World Cup champ 0-0 in the away match. Jordan had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in the qualifiers since 1985. Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan reached in the past seven times in the qualifiers.

MELBOURNE — Roger Federer showed his 35-year-old legs may yet still carry him to a long-awaited 18th Grand Slam title as he overhauled fifth seed Kei Nishikori in a five-set slog to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals on Sunday.

Having issued a reminder of his class in the 90-minute rout of Tomas Berdych, Federer flaunted his endurance by prevailing 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 after a three hour and 26 minute battle under the lights at Rod Laver Arena.

After six months out of the game to recover from a knee injury, Federer’s fairytale return will continue against giant-killing German Mischa Zverev, who sensationally ousted top seed Andy Murray on the same centre court only hours before.

Since winning Wimbledon in 2012, Federer has gone close to adding to his major tally, but with each passing year, the doubts have only piled higher.

Yet with Murray and six-times Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic sent packing from Melbourne Park, the Swiss master finds himself with his best chance in years and revelled in his physical condition when taken deep by Nishikori.

“I felt great in the fifth [set], I must say,” the 17th seed told reporters. “Great energy. Even deep into the fourth I thought, ‘Yeah, fifth, here we go, no problem for me’.

“I’m feeling good about my chances.

“But tonight was special, no doubt about it. Going five against Kei here on Rod Laver Arena with the comeback, it’s definitely very special.”

The match threatened for a time to be anything but special as Asia’s first men’s Grand Slam finalist stormed to a 4-0 lead before weathering a huge Federer recovery to take the first set on a tiebreak.

The Swiss hit back quickly, belting a huge return to break Nishikori in the seventh game of the second.

Federer served out the set to love when Nishikori hit a return into the tramlines and the old master threw a steely gaze at his player’s box, pumping his fist.

Rattled by the pressure, Nishikori became twitchy, his fidgeting between points betraying the nerves as Federer roared through the third set in 26 minutes.

The Swiss looked to be coasting to victory but he suffered a rare wobble at 2-2 in the fourth, shanking a straightforward smash and then netting a volley to give up two break points.

The door ajar, Nishikori barged through it with a stinging passing shot as Federer rushed the net with more hope than design.

Nishikori served out to love, the match back to level terms as Federer’s suddenly misbehaving backhand saw him put a return just wide of the line.

Nishikori took a medical time-out between sets, with a trainer working hard on his legs, but it was Federer who appeared in greater need of a massage as he was thrown around the court by the Japanese.

But the Swiss held on grimly, and grabbed his chance in the second game when Nishikori netted to offer two break points.

The Japanese saved the first and fired a huge serve on the next that should have settled the argument. But Federer somehow made the return with a desperate backhand lunge.

Nishikori came in for the kill with an open court spread before him but dumped the ball into the net, triggering thunderous cheers from a crowd heavily favouring the Swiss.

From there, Federer rode the momentum to the finish, serving out the match strongly and savouring another huge ovation after having defied father time once again.

A fourth-round elimination by an unfancied player was a disappointing end to Angelique Kerber’s defence of her Australian Open title on Sunday but the top-seeded German had never appeared comfortable in her skin at Melbourne Park.

Kerber left head bowed from Rod Laver Arena after a 6-2, 6-3 defeat by 35th-ranked American Coco Vandeweghe, her final stand ending meekly in 68 minutes.

It was a far cry from the magical night 12 months before, when Kerber rose up like a blonde Valkyrie to fell Serena Williams in a three-set classic, clinching a maiden grand slam title that set a platform for the brilliant season to come.