Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open hat-trick bid was almost stunningly killed off in the early hours of Monday before the world No.1 escaped in a five-hour thriller against Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka.

But the top seed’s vulnerability at stages of the 1-6 7-5 6-4 6-7(5-7) 12-10 fourth-round win and the energy-sapping nature of the marathon encounter will give his rivals – including quarter-final opponent, fifth seed Tomas Berdych – renewed hope that the Serb is beatable at Melbourne Park.

Rank underdog Wawrinka will also have won a legion of new fans for his lion-hearted performance, pushing Djokovic all the way in a match that stretched two minutes past the five-hour mark.

Djokovic counts himself as one of those fans, saying Wawrinka would have been an equally deserving winner.

“It’s really hard to find the words to describe the feeling we had tonight, especially in the fifth set,” Djokovic said.

“He deserved equally to be the winner of this match … he showed his quality; he was the aggressive player on the court.

“I was just hanging in there trying to fight.”

Djokovic said it revived memories of the five-hour, 53-minute final he won against Rafael Nadal last year.

“We are midway through the tournament but it feels like a final to me, this match,” he said.