US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro is determined that this year’s Australian Open will fare better than last year’s attempt which ended rather abruptly with a quarter-final drubbing at the hands of Roger Federer.

Del Potro came mighty close to a shock early defeat against dangerous floater James Blake in a thriller which went all the way, Del Potro winning 6-4 6-7(3) 5-7 6-3 10-8 at the Hisense Arena.

Del Potro had to come up with every shot in the book to keep Blake at bay. Blake fought like a tiger in the final set, saving one break point after another in a valiant attempt to pull off what would have been one of the best wins of his career.
 
In the end, it was the fourth seed Del Potro who edged it after four hours and 17 minutes of intense action which saw both men call the trainer in to treat leg ailments.

“As soon as I let any ball sit up a little, he was taking it to me,” Blake said. “That’s my goal too, and I had chances at them and made some mistakes. That's the difference. You miss a couple balls and he’s moving on, and I'm not. But that’s why he won the US Open and is No. 4 in the world.”

Blake was forced to face yet another disappointing five-set loss at a Grand Slam, a worrying trend for the American.

“It’s tough to rank the [five set losses] but right now it hurts pretty bad,” said Blake.

Del Potro will now face Florian Mayer of Germany, who upset 29th seed Viktor Troicki of Serbia 4-6 6-4 7-6(2) 6-1.

You can watch the Australian Open live for free on bet365. To watch, simply follow these 3 simple steps:
 
1. Go to bet365 and sign-up or register (it's free)
2. Click on Sports > Live Streaming > Tennis
3. Watch Australian Open matches for free