Local star Alejandro Davidovich stuns in Australian Open epic

Malaga's Alejandro Davidovich produced the performance of his career in Melbourne on Wednesday, defeating Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in a gruelling five-set match to advance to the Australian Open third round.

The local star came back from two sets down for the first time in his career, securing a dramatic 6-7(7), 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 victory in four hours and 44 minutes.

The late-night encounter, which concluded after midnight local time, saw Davidovich battle through multiple setbacks, including disruptive crowd noise, a change of court and warnings for time violations.

Despite losing the first two sets in tiebreaks, the world number 66 found his rhythm, breaking Auger-Aliassime's serve nine times and holding firm in the final stages.

Davidovich's victory was particularly sweet given his previous struggles against the 29th seed, who had beaten him in a dramatic match at the same tournament two years earlier. This time, Auger-Aliassime—hampered by inconsistency on serve—could not contain the Spaniard's relentless energy.

Davidovich went on to face 19-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik in the third round.