Stefanos Tsitsipas defeats Roberto Bautista Agut to reach Australian Open semi-finals
"I'm just living the dream," said Tsitsipas, who beat six-time Australian Open winner Roger Federer in the fourth round
Tuesday 22 January 2019 15:13, UK
Stefanos Tsitsipas became the youngest man to reach the last four at the Australian Open in 16 years after beating Roberto Bautista Agut.
The Greek star followed up his landmark victory over Roger Federer by overcoming Spaniard Bautista Agut 7-5 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2) to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.
Backing up breakthrough moments is notoriously difficult but Tsitsipas bucked the trend to get the job done in three hours and 15 minutes.
The 20-year-old had to dig deep under a blazing sun on Rod Laver Arena, coming from a break down in the first and third sets before proving stronger in the fourth, closing out the match with a pair of booming serves.
He fell to the court when Bautista Agut's final return landed in the net and can look forward to a clash against either Rafael Nadal or Frances Tiafoe on Thursday.
Tsitsipas' achievement makes him the youngest man to reach the semi-finals at Melbourne Park since Andy Roddick in 2003 and the youngest at any Grand Slam since Novak Djokovic at the US Open in 2007.
He said: "It all feels like a fairytale almost. I'm just living the dream, living what I've been working for. I feel a bit emotional but not too much because I know I really worked hard to get here."
The Greek, who broke through in 2018 with his first ATP Tour title and won the NextGen finals, said he had told his team in the off-season that one of his goals for the year was to reach a major semi-final.
"When I was answering this question I thought I was crazy but it is real and it just happened," he said.
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