Switzerland’s Roger Federer, right, and Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas cross as they walk to their chairs during a break in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)
MELBOURNE —Two-time defending champion Roger Federer’s has been upset in the fourth round of the Australian Open by Stefanos Tsitsipas, who becomes the first player from Greece to reach the quarterfinals at a major.
Tsitsipas converted one of his three breakpoint chances in the match and fended off all 12 he faced to beat the 20-time major winner 6-7 (11), 7-6 (3), 7-5, 7-6 (5)
The 37-year-old Federer had a set point in 10th game of the second for a 2-0 lead but Tsitsipas saved it with a service winner.
Federer has won the last two Australian titles and has six overall at Melbourne Park, a record he shares with top-ranked Novak Djokovic and Roy Emerson.
The 20-year-old Tsitsipas says “I’m the happiest person on earth right now.” His best previous run at a major ended in a fourth-round exit at Wimbledon last year.
He will next play Roberto Bautista Agut, who beat 2018 runner-up Marin Cilic in five sets to reach the quarterfinals for the first time. Bautista Agut had lost in the fourth round nine times at Slams.