Greek tragedy for Federer, no sweat for rocking Rafa
AUSTRALIAN OPEN Swiss loses to Tsitsipas, but says he is not done yet & will return at French Open
MELBOURNE: Roger Federer’s bid for a hat-trick of Australian Open titles was crushed on Sunday as Greek wunderkind Stefanos Tsitsipas rose up to floor the Swiss master and become his nation’s first Grand Slam quarter-finalist.
In a match pitting the oldest and youngest players left in the men’s draw, the 20-year-old Tsitsipas overhauled Federer 6-7(11), 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-6(5) under the lights of Rod Laver Arena, sparking delirium among Greek fans out in force at Melbourne Park.
The 37-year-old Federer, 20 times a Grand Slam champion, will rue his chances, having failed to convert any of the 12 break points he took from Tsitsipas over the course of a riveting clash.
Instead, it was Tsitsipas showing a wise head on young shoulders in a final tiebreak of unrelenting tension.
When given a match point after Federer slapped a forehand long, he converted it clinically, forcing a backhand error from the Swiss. He raised his arms in triumph and roared at the terraces, bringing tears of joy to his brother’s eyes in the players’ box. “There’s nothing I can describe, I cannot describe it, I am the happiest man on earth right now,” Tsitsipas said later.
“Roger is a legend of our sport, I have been idolising him since I was six. I didn’t lose my patience, stayed in those rallies.”
Federer saw something of his old self in Tsitsipas, a rangy tyro with flowing, blond locks and an unswerving confidence.
“He has a one-handed backhand and I had long hair, too. So yeah, a little bit,” he remarked.
“I have massive regrets tonight. I felt like I had to win the second set. Cost me the game tonight.”
Federer denied his defeat to Tsitsipas signalled a changing of the guard as he announced he will play the French Open this year for the first time since 2015.
NADAL THROUGH
Rafael Nadal routed Tomas Berdych 6-0, 6-1, 7-6(4) to charge into quarter-finals. The 2009 champion was relentless, claiming the first two sets in 51 minutes.
Berdych rallied to grab a set point off Nadal in the final stanza but a malfunction of the serve clock rattled him during the tiebreak and he bowed out slapping a backhand into the net.
SPIDER-CAM ALMOST HITS UMPIRE ROGER THAT
An umpire was lucky to escape injury on Sunday when a spider-cam smashed into the sun shield above her chair, ripping it off, as Maria Sharapova and Ashleigh Barty stood nearby. . In the immediate aftermath the spider-cam, which hovers above the court on a cable, moving vertically and horizontally to offer an overhead perspective, attempted to swoop down closer to the action. Instead the camera crashed into the sun shield of shocked umpire Alison Hughes, removing it completely and narrowly missing her head. Federer, a six-time champion, failed to reach the quarter-finals at Australian Open for only the second time in 16 years.
Federer has not gone past the quarterfinal stage of the last two Grand Slams he has competed in. He lost to Kevin Anderson at Wimbledon in quarters and to John Millman at the US Open in prequarterfinals.
In all his last three losses in Grand Slams — to Anderson, Millman and Tsitsipas — he dropped a set for the first time in the tournaments