Things are finally starting to get crazy at the Australian Open. Almost all Open’s have their fair share of incredible matches and big surprises (especially in men’s singles), and the 2009 version is starting to assume such qualities. If you were in Rod Laver Arena on Sunday afternoon and Sunday night, you were in for a treat—not to mention an extremely long day of tennis.

It started with the No. 1 woman in the world, Jelena Jankovic, bowing out of the tournament in startling fashion at the hands of Marion Bartoli, 6-1, 6-4. In the second match of the day, Dinara Safina also followed up Jankovic’s disappointment with another stunning defeat. Instead, Safin fought back from 2-5 in the third set and even saved two match points before prevailing 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.

That finally allowed Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych to take the court in the late afternoon. Before this one was done, the men’s side became ever so close to also losing one of its top two players (Federer is second behind Nadal).

How close? Berdych took a two set lead, running Federer all over the place and overpowering the Swiss with huge serves and heavy groundstrokes. The 6-4, 7-6(4) scoreline did not even do justice to Berdych’s dominance.

The turning point, however, finally came late in the second set. Always prone to mental meltdowns, Berdych fell into a stretch of dreadful shots—especially volleys—as he approached what once seemed certain victory. The Czech allowed his opponent to take the third set 6-4, and from there Federer never looked back. He eventually prevailed 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to set up a quarterfinal clash with Juan Martin Del Potro.

“I wasn’t thinking of losing, that’s for sure,” Federer said of his two-set deficit. “The finish line was still very far for Tomas. I knew that. I kind of felt after a terrible first set from my side that if I probably want to win this it’s going to go to five sets — that’s what made me be so determined towards the end.

“It was nice being in a battle with him, Federer added. “It was fair play. It was tough, good tennis towards the end. I believed in it all the way, and I think that was key in the end.”

2009 Australian Open sensation Jelena Dokic kicked off the night session on Sunday. Her dream run to the fourth round in Melbourne was already just that: a dream run. Even if Dokic had lost to Alisa Kleybanova on Sunday, her performance Down Under would have lasted for years as one of the most memorable. And to say Dokic almost lost would be an understatement.

Dokic led 7-5 and was even at 5-5 in the second set—two games from the match and the quarterfinals—when things to a drastic turn for the worse. Kleybanova, who had stunned Ana Ivanovic in the previous round, pulled out the second set 7-5 and stormed to a 3-1 lead in the decisive third. But Dokic, who had also won all three of her previous matches in three sets, could not be counted out. She overcame the deficit, the pressure, and even a sprained ankle to outlast Kleybanova 8-6 in the third (no third-set tiebreaker).

“I didn’t play my best and didn’t feel great really,” she said, “but kept on going with my head, so that’s what pulled me through today.” “At times I couldn’t even get myself, the crowd going. I couldn’t even scream, ‘Come on’ any more I was so tired.”

Dokic has now upset three seeded players en route to an incredible quarterfinal appearance: Kleybanova, Anna Chakvetadze, and Caroline Wozniacki.

Dokic will now take on Safina for a spot in the semifinals. Considering their respective plights on Sunday, it will be shock to see either one standing as a member of the last four women remaining in the tournament.

While the night did not get better after Dokic’s win, it did get longer. Novak Djokovic, the men’s singles defending champion, survived only a minor scare from Marcos Baghdatis 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-7 (5), 6-2. Following the Dokic-Kleybanova three-hour marathon, it ended at 2:26 in the morning.

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