MELBOURNE, Australia — Even as his uninterrupted dominance of yore dissipated, even as he took the occasional break, Roger Federer always mattered more often than not in the closing days of Grand Slam tournaments.
Until lately, that is.
Until, at age 37, he was outplayed in the Australian Open’s fourth round by a much younger man, 20-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas, during a 6-7 (11), 7-6 (3), 7-5, 7-6 (5) surprise that ended Federer’s bid for a third consecutive championship at Melbourne Park.
“I have massive regrets,” said Federer, who failed to convert any of the 12 break points he earned against Tsitsipas, the first player from Greece to reach a major quarterfinal.
This loss makes it a fourth straight Slam without Federer in the semifinals: He skipped the 2018 French Open, was beaten at Wimbledon in the quarterfinals and exited the U.S. Open in the fourth round.
That is his longest such drought since he claimed the first of his men’s record 20 major titles, all the way back in 2003 at Wimbledon.
“Roger is a legend of our sport. So much respect for him. He showed such good tennis over the years. I’ve been idolizing him since the age of 6,” said Tsitsipas.
“It was a dream come true for me … just facing him,” Tsitsipas said about Federer. “Winning at the end? I cannot describe it, you know.”
Federer was the oldest man left in the field and would have been the oldest quarterfinalist in Australia since Ken Rosewall at 43 in 1977.
Tsitsipas, a lanky guy who kept his scraggly hair in place with a pink headband, was the youngest to make the fourth round this year. He lost his opening match in Melbourne a year ago, when Federer picked up his sixth Australian Open championship.
“For sure, it’s a good win against Roger. I mean, we all know who Roger Federer is, what he has done in tennis. But I still have to keep my focus, keep my concentration on further goals that I want to achieve. That’s a very good beginning. I need to stay humble,” said Tsitsipas, who next faces another player making his quarterfinal debut at a major, No. 22 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain. “This win is a good milestone, let’s say good first step, as I said, to something bigger.”
Earlier, unseeded American Frances Tiafoe reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal on his 21st birthday by beating No. 20 seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (1), 7-5.
Tiafoe never had been past the third round at a major until this tournament. And what a challenge awaits Tuesday: His quarterfinal will be against 17-time major champion Rafael Nadal.
“He’s going to run me like crazy,” Tiafoe said. “I’ve got to go to sleep now, matter of fact.”
Two past women’s champions and former No. 1s were also sent packing. No. 2 seed Angelique Kerber was completely outplayed by unseeded Danielle Collins of the U.S. in a surprisingly lopsided 6-0, 6-2 upset, while No. 30 seed Maria Sharapova double-faulted 10 times in a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 loss to No. 15 Ash Barty of Australia.
Collins’ next opponent will be unseeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who got past 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3.
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