David Ferrer was forced to endure a near five-hour slog before prevailing in four sets against Gilles Simon in the third round of the Australian Open.

The two grafters are known for putting on marathon matches, and it was no different in Melbourne before Ferrer eventually triumphed 6-2 7-5 5-7 7-6(4).

After the Spaniard broke three times to Simon's once to win an opening set that gave an indication of the back-and-forth action that was to come, a 72-minute second set played a pivotal role in the outcome.

Ferrer went a break up and only resilient defence from Simon prevented him from extending that advantage, as the Frenchman saved three break points in game five before immediately recording a break of his own.

The pair exchanged breaks again in games seven and eight to take the scores to 4-4, and again it was Ferrer who gained the initiative at the crucial time as he broke once more to fight his way into a two-set lead.

The third had fewer twists and turns, but still had a dramatic finish as Simon won three games in a row to pull a set back, after the ninth seed had failed to serve out for the match, having opened up a 5-3 advantage.

Simon showed great spirit throughout, having found himself trailing to a break at the beginning of every set, and it was no different in the fourth as Ferrer broke in the opening game and then secured a nervy hold.

When the world number 10's ninth break helped him move to within a game of victory, it seemed only a matter of time, but Simon won four games in a row to force a tie-break as the clock ticked towards 300 minutes.

However, the 18th seed could not take this momentum into the breaker and force a fitting fifth-set decider as his errors caught up with him, allowing Ferrer to go 6-2 up and secure a mammoth win after two missed match points.