Tsensational! Tstunning! Tsitsipas!
Okay, enough of the tomfoolery; this is no joke: in a massive Australian Open upset on Sunday night, Stefanos Tsitsipas ousted two-time defending champion Roger Federer 6-7(11), 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-6(5). Tsitsipas fired 20 aces and did not drop serve a single time while pulling off the biggest win of his career in three hours and 45 minutes.
But the most important statistic for the 20-year-old Greek–and for Federer, too–was obvious: 12 break points against the Tsitsipas serve, 12 won by Tsitsipas.
“I was just serving well,” the world No. 15 said of his efforts down break point. “I managed to not make any mistakes, stay in the point, make him play…. It was actually very mental, I would say. I could have cracked at any moment, but I didn’t because I really wanted it bad. I showed it on the court. Obviously and for sure that mental toughness helped a lot. It could have been a different match if I [didn’t] stand that pressure.”
Pressure? What pressure? Tsitsipas saved eight break points in the second set when a two-set deficit at the 20-time Grand Slam champion’s hands would have spelled almost-certain doom. He stole that set in another ‘breaker and then broke Federer for the first and only time at 6-5 in the third to seize an improbable lead.
A third tiebreaker also had to decide the fourth, at which point the underdog gained an upper hand at 5-5 when Federer erred on a forehand that was challenged but shown to be inches long. That gave Tsitsipas match point on his own serve, which he converted by forcing the 37-year-old Swiss into an error with a huge inside-out forehand.
Highlights:
“I lost to a better player who was playing very well tonight,” Federer admitted. “(He) hung in there, gave himself chances at some point, stayed calm. It’s not always easy, especially for younger guys. Credit to him for taking care of that.”
Tsitsipas’ reward is a surprising quarterfinal contest against Roberto Bautista Agut, who is in the midst of a borderline miracle run of his own. The Spaniard has won three matches in five sets, including hard-fought victories over Andy Murray and Marin Cilic.
The other quarterfinal on the bottom half of the draw features another up-and-coming star in Frances Tiafoe. The American celebrated his 21st birthday on Sunday by beating Grigor Dimitrov to set up a date with Rafael Nadal.
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