Murray played well enough to win every set and actually served for the match in the fourth set.
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Elsewhere on Saturday, 35-year-old Tommy Haas of Germany let a record 12 match points slip in the fourth set, then saved a match point in the fifth en route to eliminating big-serving American John Isner 7-5, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-7 (10), 10-8 in 4 hours, 37 minutes.
France had not had it all their own way - the Spaniards took the doubles into a fourth set having saved a match point in the third set tie-break.
Djokovic came within two points of winning the match in the fourth-set tiebreaker before Nadal sent the match to a fifth set.
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The Australian Open record for the longest men's match was set in 2009, a five-setter between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco that Nadal won in 5 hours, 14 minutes.
Federer held two match points in the second set tiebreak but they both went begging as Berdych won a thrilling match 3-6 7-6 6-4 against the five-time champion.
Nadal quickly dismissed fears his comprehensive defeat was because of an injury sustained in his marathon match against Moya on Saturday, the longest three-set match on the ATP Tour in 15 years.
Jankovic squandered three match points in the third set as Dementieva forced the tie-breaker.
Moya saved six match points in the second set before going on to inflict a dispiriting defat on Grosjean in the third.
Sixth seed Clijsters trailed 5-2 and later faced match point in the deciding set against the Frenchwomen before a five-game rally transformed the semi-final.
In that 2003 U.S. Open, he was down two sets to love and fought off a match point in a five set semifinal against David Nalbandian.
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Lee, the son of a potato farmer, wrapped up his first ATP Tour title after saving a match point in the third set against the far more experienced Spaniard.
The title had looked like it might slip away when Federer saved two match points in the fourth set, the second with a superb backhand, but Nadal said he had not been worried.
This year they have played three times: the Australian Open final, which Djokovic won in a five-set match that lasted nearly six hours, and in Monte Carlo and in Rome, both on clay and both wins for Nadal.
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Elsewhere in the African qualifying zone Egypt recorded a 1-0 win over Zambia in their Group C clash in Konkola to potentially set up a deciding match with Algeria in Cairo next month.
Fish won the first set before being pegged back and saw a match point go to waste in the fourth set before Ward took it on a tied-break.
Bogdanovic recovered from losing the first set to level the match and was a break down in the final set.
And Djokovic's finals appearance was already made possible, don't forget, by his salvaging four match points in a five-set quarterfinal versus Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Anthony Kim thrashed Sergio Garcia in the first match to set the tone for the day and the home side ended up winning seven of the 12 singles matches.
Nadal prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to improve to 16-1 against Ferrer on clay -- Ferrer won their first match in 2004 -- and set up a showdown with Berdych in a repeat of the 2010 Wimbledon final, which Nadal won.
Williams, who revealed he once played a five-set tennis match in Bournemouth before driving back to Bridgend for a match against Newport, said he was not sure that some of the players of his era would want to play in today's professional game.
Williams has now beaten second-ranked Sharapova in their past 12 meetings, and was in control for most of the match despite trailing 3-1 in the second set.
The local man started slowly as Federer looked to wrap up a quick win, but Benneteau had three set points in the second set tiebreak, converting at the second attempt as the match began to turn in his favor.
Last year, Federer struggled past Sweden's Robin Soderling in his first match, losing the first set, but went on to beat Russia's Marat Safin in the final.
He will play either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals (their match was suspended for darkness Sunday evening in the fifth set).
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Roddick led by a set and had four set points in the second set tiebreaker before the Swiss maestro clawed his way back into the match in the space of a few moments.
Saturday's match at Ellis Park in Johannesburg is set to play a huge role in who will qualify from Group G.
He broke Henman's serve in the fourth game, then raced through his own service game to love, but his recovery was shortlived and Henman went on to finish the match 6-4 in the third set.
Two aces by Djokovic and two double-faults by Davydenko helped to decide the first set tie-break only for the match to be turned on its head completely in the second set as Djokovic crumbled.
Coming off two match points, five-time Open champion Roger Federer lost to third-seeded Novak Djokovic in a riveting five-set semifinal match, 5-7, 6-1, 7-5, 6-2, 7-5.
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