Roddick the last left standing in classic duel

Australian Open: American prodigy grinds down Morocco's El Aynaoui in record-breaking fifth set to advance to semi-finals

If you put a gifted young American, impatient to fulfil his destiny, on the opposite side of a net to a Moroccan peaking in the twilight of his career, extraordinary things can happen. So it was last night with Andy Roddick and Younes El Aynaoui, who fought a dazzling, heroic tug of war that will go down as one of the greatest matches in grand-slam history.

The Australian Open quarter-final took five hours and 85 games to complete; the fifth set lasted 2 hours 23 minutes and was the longest in the Open era. Roddick triumphed, but the men were so close that you could have tossed a coin to determine the outcome. Perhaps the American, over a decade younger, had a teaspoon more gas left in his tank. Perhaps his hunger to win burned the tiniest bit brighter.

The Moroccan No 18 seed had a match point in the 10th game of the fifth set; it was nearly two hours later when Roddick finally sealed his 4-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-5, 21-19 win. It had seemed that moment would never arrive. When it did, the 20-year-old sank to his knees and buried his head in his hands. The two men embraced at the net, bowed and staggered off court with their arms around each other.

Two games earlier, when it appeared the match might go on until morning, the men handed their rackets to a pair of ballboys, who delightedly played a point before serious business resumed.

Roddick, who meets Germany's Rainer Schüttler tomorrow in the semi-finals, said: "Younes is a class act. He showed the other day by beating Lleyton [Hewitt] that he's one of the top players in the world, and I'm extremely humbled by this victory. If we see each other 10 years down the line, we'll know we shared something pretty special."

The 31-year-old El Aynaoui, who reached his first grand slam quarter-final at the US Open in 2001, said: "I wasn't very far from winning that match. I think people understand that I gave everything and tried my best, but at the end you have to have a winner and a loser, and this time it didn't go for me."

Both men entered the match fizzing with confidence; El Aynaoui had knocked out Hewitt, the No 1 seed and home favourite, in the previous round, while Roddick – oft touted as the heir to Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras – beat Mikhail Youzhny after recovering from two sets down for the first time in his career. The prize for another win beckoned alluringly to both: entry to their first grand slam semi-final.

The result was a thrilling battle of guts, nerve and stamina that kept spectators on the edge of their seats. But the match was not just an endurance test. The tennis was outstanding; even at 17-17 in the fifth set, the men were still grazing the lines and clipping the net, placing cheeky little drop-shots and awesome forehands. El Aynaoui hit 107 winners, making 55 unforced errors; Roddick had 102 to 31.

On serve, you could not slip a cigarette paper between them. Breaks were as rare as empty seats in the Rod Laver Arena, with both men putting on awesome displays of power and precision. There were aces galore – 27 for Roddick, 25 for El Aynaoui – and the Moroccan was still landing 75 per cent of his first serves in during the fifth set.

El Aynaoui broke Roddick's serve in the very first game, but that was not a portent of things to come. After giving the Moroccan a 4-2 lead in the first set, Roddick did not lose a point on serve until six service games later. The Moroccan also held to love several times. "Give us a rally!" implored a voice from the crowd.

The players obliged, but neither would allow a chink to show in his armour. El Aynaoui saved two set points at 4-5, while Roddick took the second set with just one mini-break in the tiebreaker.

They had one break point apiece in the third set; El Aynaoui used his to win the set. The American, who had already disputed several line calls, let rip at the umpire, Philippe Maria of Portugal, when he failed to overrule a linesman. "You know that thing that holds your back in place?" he shouted, apparently implying that Maria was spineless.

The American – who claims to have grown out of his tantrums – was still abusing the umpire when he returned from a toilet break between sets. At one point he told Maria: "It's the one job you can screw up on a daily basis, and still have one." Roddick, however, broke El Aynaoui's serve for the first time in the fourth set; before long it was two sets apiece.

And so began the long march towards 21-19. It could have been 6-4, and with a different victor, but Roddick saved the match point at 10.56pm. He broke El Aynaoui in the 21st game and tried to serve out the match, but was broken straight back. The Moroccan supporters went wild. At 18-17, Roddick, furious with Maria again, snapped at him: "I'm surprised you can count to 18." The men played on. Neither would budge. Every point was an intense battle, every lost point an agony. Roddick accompanied his serves with primal screams. The tennis was still first-class.

Finally, an exhausted El Aynaoui surrendered the break, and Roddick finished things off at 12.50am. "Strategy was out of the window," he said, "it was just pure fighting."

Schüttler reached the semi-finals by dismissing David Nalbandian 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-0. In the women's draw, Serena Williams beat Meghann Shaughnessy 6-2, 6-2, while Kim Clijsters defeated Anastasia Myskina of Russia 6-2, 6-4. Serena and Clijsters meet in one semi-final today, while Serena's sister, Venus, and Clijsters' fellow Belgian, Justine Henin-Hardenne, play in the other.

Five other epic court encounters

By John Roberts

1980 WIMBLEDON
Final: Bjorn Borg bt John McEnroe 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7, 8-6
The last of Borg's five consecutive Wimbledon triumphs is best remembered for an epic tie-break in the fourth set, won, 18-16, by the Swede's American rival. During the 20-minute cameo, Borg had five championship points and saved six set points as McEnroe, on the tie-break's 34th point, levelled the contest. Borg won all but three of his service points in the fifth set.

1969 WIMBLEDON
First round: Pancho Gonzales bt Charlie Pasarell 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9
Before the introduction of the tie-break, two Americans played the longest match in Wimbledon history: 112 games. Play began late on Tuesday afternoon and was suspended overnight because of bad light. The 41-year-old Gonzales saved seven match points, and twice recovered from 0-40 in the final set, before beating an opponent 16 years younger after 5hr and 12 min.

2002 DAVIS CUP
Final (Paris): Mikhail Youzhny bt Paul-Henri Mathieu 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4
Russia's first Davis Cup triumph was secured by a substitute, the 20-year-old Youzhny replacing Yevgeny Kafelnikov and becoming the only player ever to come back from two sets down to win the fifth rubber of a final. Youzhny had not previously won a "live" match in the Davis Cup, and his 20-year-old French opponent was making his Davis Cup debut in the final.

1989 FRENCH OPEN
Fourth round: Michael Chang bt Ivan Lendl 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3
The 17-year-old Chang became so badly affected by cramp in the fifth set that he resorted to serving under-arm. Lendl responded with utter confusion, exchanging moonballs instead of going for the kill, and losing his temper with spectators who cheered his errors. Chang went on to become the first American for 34 years to win the men's singles title at the French Open

1995 AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Quarter-finals: Pete Sampras bt Jim Courier 6-7, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
At the end of the fourth set, after Sampras had fought back from two sets down for the second consecutive match, a spectator shouted: "Do it for your coach, Pete!" This reminder that Tim Gullikson had been diagnosed with brain cancer caused Sampras to weep and he could barely serve through his tears in the third game of the final set before completing an emotional victory