Feliciano Lopez has been gifted a place in the third round of the Australian Open after Adrian Mannarino's retirement in the fourth set of their thrilling match.
After taking the opening two sets 6-4 6-4, Mannarino wasted a match point before retiring with what was believed to be heat exhaustion when Lopez fought back to win the third set on a tie-break and lead 4-0 in the fourth.
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Both players struggled to get first serves in during the early exchanges, and they exchanged breaks in a sloppy start to the match.
Mannarino was left frustrated once again when a break of serve was cancelled out by Lopez, but the Frenchman clinched the opening set in the ninth game with a couple of powerful ground strokes.
Lopez's difficulties with serving carried into the second set, and Mannarino's own vulnerability made little difference due to the problems at the opposite end of the court.
A run of five losses of serve saw the second set come to an end in dramatic fashion, and it was Lopez who shocked the crowd by missing an overhead smash to gift Mannarino a two-set lead.
The pressure was piled on the Spaniard once again when Mannarino won the first three games of the third set to love, before happily accepting another break of serve to go 4-0 ahead.
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Lopez refused to step aside for his opponent though, and he kept the match alive by winning the next three games.
However, Lopez was unable to ride the momentum as Mannarino broke once more to edge back in front, but the nerves were clear for the Frenchman as he wasted a match point to allow his rival back into the match.
A tie-break was required, and the format further exposed Lopez's struggles on serve, but he continued to impress the crowd with his fight and he was rewarded with a 7-3 success.
Lopez quickly stormed into a 4-0 lead in the fourth set, and the drama looked set to continue until a clearly struggling Mannarino stepped aside to offer his rival a path into the next round.
Callum Mulvihill
