24th January, 2022
Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas survived an attritional fourth-round battle with American Taylor Fritz on Monday, to book a quarter-final date with Italian Jannik Sinner.
Twice, Tsitsipas came from behind to defeat Fritz 4-6 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-4.
At just past midnight on Rod Laver Arena the Greek ended Fritz’s resistance.
He now needs to overcome Sinner’s obstacle to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne 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 helped as he got the decisive break in the fifth set before claiming victory.
Fritz, playing in his first Grand Slam fourth round, converted only two of his 15 break points and will rue a missed opportunity to become the first American male to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final for two years.
“It was an epic match that’s all I can say, I gave everything out there on the court today,” the 23-year-old said.
“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,” Tsitsipas said.