Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was not born when Federer made his professional tennis debut, has rapidly established himself as one of the most exciting up-and-coming talents in the game and backed it up spectacularly with a 6-7 (11) 7-6 (3) 7-5 7-6 (5) victory to move through to a first grand slam quarter-final.
Happiest man on earth Tsitsipas Tsitsipas, 20, saved all 12 of 37-year-old Federer’s break points on his way to a famous win. “I’m the happiest man on earth right now, I can’t describe it,” he said. Tsitsipas said: “Roger is a legend of the sport, (I have) so much respect for him. He showed such good tennis over the years. I’ve been idolising him since the age of six. It was a dream come true just being on Rod Laver facing him. Winning at the end, I cannot describe it.”
Federer declining
Federer had lost his last two Grand Slam matches after dropping sets for the first time in the tournament – against Kevin Anderson at Wimbledon and John Millman at the US Open – and he suffered the same fate again. “I lost to a better player who played very well. He stayed calm and hung in there, which is not easy for younger guys so credit to him,” Federer added.