FEDERER CRASHES OUT OF AUSTRALIAN OPEN
BID FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE TITLE ENDED IN A SURPRISE
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.