BY Jonathan Ledger
Roger Federer, reigning Australian Open champion, has crashed out of this year’s tournament after suffering a shock four-set defeat at the hands of Greek youngster, Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The 20-years-old who is a self-confessed Federer protégé lost the first set but ousted the Swiss master 6-7 7-6 7-5 7-6 in a dramatic turn of events at Melbourne.
The loss sees Federer fail to reach the quarter-finals of the competition for only the second time in 16 years.
Federer, 37, who confessed “something is going wrong” whenever he plays the youngster, was, however, magnanimous in defeat.
“I lost to a better player who played well. He stayed calm and hung in there, which is not easy for young guys so credit to him,” added Federer.
On a day of shock defeats, the women’s draw produced the biggest shock of the tournament as Danielle Collins defeated the number two seed, Agelique Kerber, to reach the last 16.
Home favourite, Ashleigh Barty, added Maria Sharapova to the list of big-name casualties with a 4-6 6-1 6-4 victory.
Rafael Nadal, however, had smooth sailing amidst the chaos with a 6-0 6- 7-6 dispatch of Thomas Berdych in Melbourne.
The number two seed, who has not dropped a set in the tournament, continues his quiet revolution in Australia where he would face 21-year-old Frances Tiafoe who also handed a shock defeat to Grigor Dimitrov.
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