Stefanos Tsitsipas the Greek tennis player, stepped up his game to book a place in the quarter-finals of the 2021 Australian Open.
The fourth seed gave his best to beat American Taylor Fritz 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Left behind by 1-2 (sets), the hopes of the Greek tennis player in Melbourne are on the brink. But he leveled up the game in the fourth and fifth sets, firing a string of stunning backhands and forehands on Rod Laver Arena before snatching victory in 3 hours 23 minutes.
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Entering the fifth set with both players still shooting impressive punches from the baseline area, the world number 4 played better on the more crucial points. He showed the courage and quality of the game to step up after getting the chance to break the decisive break in the ninth game.
“I gave my all on the pitch today (24/1) and feel very proud of myself, the way I fought, and the way I stayed consistent in the crucial moments. I feel so happy. The stadium is so hot,” Stefanos Tsitsipas said.
The player, who shot 53 winners and broke 20th seed Fritz three times, has reached the semifinals of the Australian Open twice (2019 and 2021), but he is still unable to win a first Grand Slam title of his career.
With this victory, the eight-title-winning player further dominated head to head against Fritz by 3-0 and increased his winning streak in five sets to 8-6. In addition, for the fifth time he advanced to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam.
“I knew the match was going to drain my energy and I kept reminding myself to defend, do my job and not give up,” said Tsitsipas.
“Just a little more patience and in the end it all paid off well. It’s great to have the audience cheer me on.”
Meanwhile, Fritz’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career were dashed, but he recorded his best Grand Slam achievement by advancing to the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Tsitsipas will continue to seek a first Grand Slam title of his career when he faces 11th seed Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
