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Stanislas Wawrinka relieved to avoid fifth set

Defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka admits that he was relieved not to have to play a fifth set during his victory over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez at the Australian Open.

Stanislas Wawrinka has revealed that he just tried to "take one point at a time" after saving five set points to avoid going the distance in his match with Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

After moving to within two games of a straight-sets win, Wawrinka was pegged back by the Spaniard, but the defending champion overturned a 5-0 deficit in a fourth-set tie-break to book his place in the last eight of the Australian Open.

The 29-year-old said: "I just tried to focus on each point. It wasn't easy, he was up 5-0 and 6-2, but I just tried to fight and I made some good passing shots with my backhand.

"You need to focus on what you are doing on the court, I was too defensive in the third and fourth sets, but I'm happy to avoid having to go into a fifth."

Wawrinka will now play fifth seed Kei Nishikori, who comfortably defeated David Ferrer in three sets.

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Kei Nishikori celebrates after winning his first-round match at the Australian Open on January 20, 2015
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