Melbourne VIC, Australia, 16 January 2015 | tennis.com.au

An epic three-set battle saw Omar Jasika keep his Australian Open dream alive by defeating fellow Australian John-Patrick Smith 6-7 (5) 6-3 12-10 on Thursday in a match that lasted over three hours.

The reigning US Open boys’ singles champion, had three match-point opportunities at 5-4 in the third set, only for Smith to save them all.

It would take until the 22nd game of the final set for  the precocious 17-year-old to seal the victory in fading light.

He will be joined in the third round of qualifying by Dane Propoggia who powered past Ireland’s James McGee in straight sets 6-3 6-4.

The pair are now just one win away from securing a berth in the main draw of the Australian Open.

The only other Australian in action on Thursday was Blake Mott who went down to Russian 13th seed Alexander Kudryavtsev 6-2 6-4.

Qualifying will continue on Friday.

>>See Friday’s qualifying schedule here