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 was bidding to become the oldest man to reach the quarterfinals in Australia since Ken Rosewall was 43 in 1977.
The match lasted 3 hours, 45 minutes, but Federer essentially cinched his fate two hours in, after he squandered eight break points, including three on unforced errors, to give the 14th-seeded Tsitsipas enough of an opening to squeeze past him in the second set.
Tsitsipas is the first player from Greece to reach a major quarterfinal.
"It was a dream come true for me … just facing him," Tsitsipas said. "Winning at the end? I cannot describe it, you know."
Tsitsipas will take on Roberto Bautista Agut for a place in the semifinals after the Spaniard took down sixth seed and 2018 finalist Marin Cilic 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.