Australian Open 2012 Results: Day 4 Brutally Tough on Men's Side

Day 4 of the Australian Open was a day in which many of the victors overcame a grueling war of attrition. Out of the 16 matches on the men's side, only four were completed in three sets. 

The biggest news of the day came when Andy Roddick withdrew from his match with Lleyton Hewitt due to a sore right hamstring. This development waters down the talent pool on the men's side of the tournament considerably.

146th-ranked Andrey Gulubev also withdrew from the Open.

Out of the 10 remaining Day 4 matches, five of them went the distance, as each man pushed the other to the limits of their endurance, skill and will. 

Kei Nishikori (24) defeated Matthew Edben 3-6, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-1

This brutal match lasted just over three hours.

Nishikori mounted a furious comeback after getting smashed for the first two sets, winning the final three in convincing fashion.

Edben simply ran out of steam at the end, while Nishikori was able to gather himself and find a second wind.

David Ferrer (5) defeated Ryan Sweeting 6-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

Ferrer was pushed to the limit and almost upset by Sweeting (68th in the world) before clamping down in the last two sets, in a match that lasted for about three-and-a-half hours.

Sweeting was stellar in the sets he won, but his mistakes were too numerous in the end. He ended up making 73 unforced errors, sealing his doom.

Ferrer will need to recuperate soon after that one if he hopes to avoid a third-round disappointment.

Mikhail Kukushkin defeated Viktor Troicki (19) 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3

It might not be as big an upset as Stosur's loss on the women's side was a couple of days ago, but it's still a big deal when the 92nd-ranked player (Kukushkin) defeats someone in the top 20.

Kukushkin took Troicki to task for well over three-and-a-half hours, grinding out the win. He broke more serves, made less errors and won on his first serve more often that his opponent.

Julien Benneteau defeated Giles Simon (12) 7-5, 7-6, 1-6, 3-6, 6-2

Benneteau mounted a second upset performance on the men's side, beating Simon in a 4.2 hour marathon of a tennis match. The first two sets alone took almost two and a half hours to complete.

In the end, Simon was left holding a plane ticket back to France as he watched his fellow countryman continue on in the tournament.

Benneteau won the match due to a disciplined approach, only committing 40 unforced errors to Simon's 55. 

Michael Llodra defeated Alex Bogomolov Jr. 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 5-7, 6-4

The final brutal match of the day featured yet another Frenchman. Llodra outlasted Bogomolov in yet another match that lasted well over three hours.

Llodra dominated with his serve, posting 12 aces to just one from his opponent. 

The most surprising aspect of this match was the lack of unforced errors. There were only 16 total between the two men, who had eight apiece.

Stay tuned for more results and analysis as the Australian Open kicks into high gear.

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