MELBOURNE (Reuters) -
Stefanos Tsitsipas found another gear when it counted to fend off Jannik Sinner in a five-set thriller and reach the Australian Open quarterfinals in a rare win for the high seeds on Sunday.
A year after dumping Sinner out of the quarters, third seed Tsitsipas crushed the Italian’s hopes of a second great escape at Melbourne Park this year as he held firm to complete a 6-4 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 victory at a heaving Rod Laver Arena.
With the Greek dominated for two sets as Sinner roared back into the match, Tsitsipas captured the decisive break in the sixth game of the decider before sealing it in style with a cross-court forehand winner.
“I felt like I spent an eternity playing on this court,” Tsitsipas said after the four-hour battle.
The three-times Australian Open semifinalist will meet unseeded 21-year-old Czech Jiri Lehecka for a place in the semifinals.
Long touted as a rising star, Sinner will wonder what might have been, having had Tsitsipas on the ropes.
He had shattered one ceiling in the previous round when he secured his first Grand Slam win from two sets down against Marton Fucsovics.
But he remains winless in seven Grand Slam matches against opponents ranked in the top five.
He trudged off court slowly, shaking his head in the player’s tunnel decorated with the names of champions.