Stefanos Tsitsipas has pulled off a remarkable victory in the Australian Open quarter-finals, fighting back from two sets down to beat Rafael Nadal in an epic five-setter on Rod Laver Arena.
Nadal appeared headed for a comfortable win when he led 6-3, 6-2, but the Greek fifth seed showed tremendous determination to force his way back into the contest by claiming the third and fourth sets.
The decisive moment of the fifth and final set came in the 11th game when Nadal dropped serve for only the second time in the match.
This allowed Tsitsipas to serve for the match at 6-5 and despite some nervous moments, he booked his passage through to the semi-finals with the 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 7-5 triumph after four hours and five minutes.
Tsitsipas will play Daniil Medvedev in the second men’s semi-final on Friday evening.
Earlier on Wednesday, the fourth-seeded Medvedev defeated fellow Russian Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.
Medvedev and Rublev were teammates when Russia won the ATP Cup team in the week before the Australian Open.
They were on opposite sides of the net on Wednesday afternoon, with Medvedev dominating his countryman in their quarter-final.
“It’s never easy,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview.
“But we’re all so competitive. During the match, you can see nothing matters. Just need to win … to reach the semis of a grand slam [tournament].”
Medvedev is into the semi-finals of a major for the third time in his career. It will be his first appearance in the last four at the Australian Open.
More to come.
ABC/AP
