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The 12th seeded Argentine had a medical timeout
in the fourth set and continued to have treatment on his thigh
during a change of ends but stayed on his legs to close out the
taxing three hour 45-minute tussle at a sweltering Hisense
Arena.
Del Potro, famous for toppling Roger Federer in the 2009 final
at Flushing Meadows, was thrilled to advance, having missed the
last three tournaments in Melbourne due to a string of injuries.
"I didn't expect to play this kind of match, I prefer to watch
on TV," joked the 29-year-old, a twice quarter-finalist in
Melbourne, during his post-match interview on court.
"I'm so happy to be playing in Melbourne after many years.
"I had pain everywhere but I'm still standing up."
Although disappearing in the third set tiebreak as Khachanov won
14 successive points in a fury of hard hitting, Del Potro
captured the decisive break in the fifth game of the fourth set
and held on grimly as his leg troubled him.
Clutching at the back of his thigh between points, last year's
U.S. Open semi-finalist remained solid on serve, however, and
fought hard to push the powerful Russian to the wall.
On match point, he wound up his huge forehand and moved in for
the kill but missed the straightforward shot down the line,
raising a gasp from the crowd.
He steadied to win another match point and moved into a
heavyweight third round clash with Czech former semi-finalist
Tomas Berdych when the Russian netted a forehand.
Del Potro was impressed with the weapons of 21-year-old
Khachanov, one of a string of rising Russians boasting
prodigious firepower.
"Guys are so strong, I feel I am getting older for sure," he
said.
"They play so hard. He hit harder than me.
"I had to run a lot but I think I took my chances to win the
match and I'm so happy to go through."
(Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
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