Andy Roddick won one of the longest matches of the Open era, beating Younes El Aynaoui in a fifth set that ended 21-19 to reach the Australian Open semifinals. Roddick defeated the Moroccan 4-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4, 21-19 on Jan. 22 in a match lasting 4 hours, 59 minutes. ESPN Classic will present Roddick's miraculous victory as an Instant Classic on Monday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. ET.

	The match between Andy Roddick and Younes El Aynaoui lasted four hours and 59 minutes.

Instant Classic
2003 Australian Open
Men's Quarterfinals
Andy Roddick vs. Younes El Aynaoui
Monday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. ET

At 2:23, it was the longest fifth set in the Open era, which began in 1968. It topped Mark Philippoussis' 20-18 win over Sjeng Schalken in the third round at Wimbledon in 2000. The Australian Open does not have tiebreakers in the fifth set.

"Strategy was out the door ... it was just pure fighting," Roddick said.

It was longest men's singles match at the Australian Open since tiebreaker sets were introduced for Grand Slam events in 1971, beating the mark set by Yannick Noah of France in his 6-7, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 16-14 win over Roger Smith in 1988. The Noah victory went 73 games; this went 83.

The longest Australian Open match in terms of time was 5:11 -- Boris Becker's victory over Omar Camporese in 1991. The longest Grand Slam match was 5:31 when Alex Carretja beat Hernan Gumy in the third round of the 1998 French Open.

With the Roddick-El Aynaoui quarterfinal at 19-all in the fifth set, both players handed their rackets to ballboys for a quick rest as the kids hit a few balls.

The match ended when El Aynaoui netted a forehand volley following an exchange at the net. The pair embraced over the net. They took a deep bow and left the court together.

"My respect level for him just grew and grew through the match," Roddick said. "We could see each other 10 years down the line and know we shared something special."

Roddick, a 20-year-old American, becomes the youngest semifinalist at Melbourne Park in 11 years, advancing to the last four at a major for the first time.