Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas survived a gruelling fourth-round battle with Taylor Fritz, twice coming from a set behind to win 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and reach the Australian Open quarterfinals.
Key points:
- The match did not finish until after midnight in Melbourne
- A break of serve in the ninth game of the final set helped Tsitsipas clinch victory
- Tsitsipas will play Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals
At just past midnight on Rod Laver Arena, the Greek ended 20th seed Fritz’s resistance to set up a clash with Italian 11th seed Jannik Sinner.
He will be seeking to reach the semifinals at Melbourne Park for the third time in his career.
Tsitsipas looked out of sorts and edgy at times but his greater experience on the big stage eventually told as he got the decisive break in the ninth game of the fifth set before claiming victory.
Fritz converted only two of his 15 break points and will rue a missed opportunity to become the first American male to reach a quarterfinal at a major for two years.
“It was an epic match that’s all I can say, I gave everything out there on the court today,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview.
“I’m proud of the way I fought.
“I’m overwhelmed. It’s too good to be true. I knew it was going to be physical, and I knew I had to be patient and in the end it paid off.”
Fritz used his destructive forehand to great effect throughout the contest and Tsitsipas looked under pressure in the first set, often struggling to beat the shot clock when serving.
The 24-year-old American broke serve at 3-3 in the opener with a clubbing forehand and calmly closed out the set.
Fritz did not even face a break point until 4-5 in the second set when he suddenly got tight and coughed up some errors.
Another forehand error allowed Tsitsipas to level the match although he initially seemed unaware the set was his.
In a carbon copy of the first set, Tsitsipas was broken at 3-3 in the third when he framed a forehand and Fritz needed no second invitation to move to within a set of victory.
Tsitsipas dug deep in the fourth set and broke the Fritz serve at 3-3 with a powerful forehand after the American had saved one break point by edging a brutal rally.
Fritz kept his nose in front in the decider and looked composed until serving at 4-4 when he cracked.
He double-faulted to hand Tsitsipas a break point and although the Greek could not take that one, he got another chance and this time he showed great defensive qualities to scramble back some huge Fritz forehands before his opponent netted an awkward low volley.
With the crowd cheering him on, Tsitsipas then held for victory and reached his fifth quarterfinal at a major.
Tsitsipas was an Australian Open semifinalist in 2019 and 2021.
Sinner had defeated Australia’s Alex de Minaur 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 6-4 earlier on Monday.
Reuters
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