'At the airport already': Swiatek stages epic comeback to survive Australian Open scare

Several top seeds were pushed to the brink on day five at the Australian Open as top-ranked woman Iga Switaek admitted she was "at the airport already", while on the men's side, Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud were taken to five sets in their second-round matches.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek staged an astonishing comeback against American Danielle Collins to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

The Polish world No 1 looked to be cruising when she led by a set and a break but soon found herself 4-1 down in the decider, with Collins serving to make it 5-1. Switaek then reeled off five straight games to survive a major scare and extend her winning run to 18 matches.

"Oh my God, I was at the airport already," Swiatek, 22, said jokingly. "I wanted to fight until the end. I knew she played perfectly but it would be hard for anybody to keep that level, so I wanted to be ready if the mistakes would come from the other side.

"It wasn't easy. I felt like I had the momentum going and then she started playing suddenly two times faster and I had no idea how to react to that for a couple of games. I came back, and I thought the only thing I could focus on was myself."

Swiatek, who will face unseeded Czech player Linda Noskova in the third round, reeled off 36 winners against 35 unforced errors. But despite her dazzling comeback, she will know that she has to move up a gear and find more consistency if she is to go deep and capture her first Australian Open title.

After the match, former finalist Collins announced that she would be retiring at the end of the season.

“This is going to be my last season, actually, competing,” the 30-year-old American said. “I don’t really know exactly when, but this will be my last season and I’m really looking