Taylor Fritz sinks 2023 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas to set up Novak Djokovic quarter-final showdown at Australian Open

Taylor Fritz beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 5-7 6-3 6-3 at the Australian Open to progress to the quarter-finals in a match of firsts for the world No. 12.

The win represents Fritz’s first triumph against a top 10 opponent at a Grand Slam and his first appearance in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park.

The 26-year-old American took Djokovic to five sets in the third round at the 2021 Australian Open, but he has a 0-8 head-to-head record against the Serbian world No. 1.

However, Fritz will enter that encounter full of confidence having produced a performance of the highest calibre to beat Tsitsipas.

The American hit 50 winners for just 19 unforced errors as he dominated his Greek opponent.

“I trusted my shots a lot. I served well the whole match,” Fritz said after the match.

“It kept me in it as there were some games he was in that I could get out of with my serve. At the end when I really needed it, I turned it up a level and played some of my best tennis to finish it.”

For Tsitsipas, it is his worst showing at the first Grand Slam of the year since 2020, when he suffered a third-round defeat.

“It’s painful, and the moments of glory are not that many,” he said in his post-match press.

“There’s just way more moments in your career that are painful and tough to deal with, suffering and all that stuff, than moments of glory and success and opening champagne bottles. These are a very small percentage of what a tennis player lives on a yearly basis.”

Elsewhere, world No. 4 Jannik Sinner is also through to the last eight after he beat Karen Khachanov 6-4 7-5 6-3

The win means the Italian has won all four of his matches thus far in straight sets but Khachanov provided a thorough examination of Sinner’s Australian Open credentials.

The fourth seed answered all questions that were asked of him, defending nine of the 10 break points he faced and hitting 46 winners to his opponent’s 27.

“Obviously, it is very tough to play against him,” said Sinner after the match.

“We have very similar styles – everything is very flat. It is kind of like ping pong – ping, ping, ping.”

The Italian lost to Djokovic in the final of the ATP Finals last year and is one of the form players of 2024 – his best showing at a Grand Slam is his semi-final appearance at Wimbledon in 2023.

Sinner will face Andrey Rublev next.

Rublev held off the challenge of From Minaur to progress courtesy of a 6-4 6-7(5) 6-7(4) 6-3 6-0 win on Rod Laver Arena.

De Minaur and Rublev had played each other on five previous occasions, with the Australian coming out leading the head-to-head 3-2 following exacting encounters.

The match was the first all top-10 match-up of the men’s draw and it delivered with momentum seesawing throughout.

De Minaur had one foot in the quarter-finals as he won consecutive tie-breaks to go 2-1 up. However, the hard-running Australian began to run out of puff as the match entered the fourth set.

The Russian would hold his nerve to win that one and then race away in the fourth before dominating the fifth – securing an improbable bagel – to secure his passage to the next round.

“First of all I want to say, great match to Alex,” said Rublev after the match.

“Two days ago I said I hope we’re going to show a great match and the spectators will enjoy it. Then I regret[ted] it as I didn’t expect it to be that enjoyable. And I said to myself no you are not going to die today, you will do everything. And then somehow I started to play better and better and find more energy and find a way to win.”