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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport

Stefanos Tsitsipas reaches Australian Open semi-final with victory over Roberto Bautista Agut

Joy: Stefanos Tsitsipas is the youngest men's semi-finalist at the Australian Open for 15 years. (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

Stefanos Tsitsipas stormed into the semi-final of the Australian Open after overcoming Roberto Bautista Agut in four sets at the Rod Laver Arena.

Backing up breakthrough moments is notoriously difficult but Tsitsipas bucked the trend after his famous win over Roger Federer, battling to a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) win in three hours and 15 minutes.

The 20-year-old made a sloppy start to the match after being broken in the very first game and it seemed to be a long way back when Bautista Agut took a 4-2 lead in the first set.

But Tsitsipas showed why he is being talked about as a key figure in tennis's next generation, as he valiantly fought back to take the first set 7-5.

He was then pegged back by Bautista Agut, the comeback artist who had played three five-set matches on his way to the quarter-finals, as the Spaniard levelled the match at one set apiece.

The Greek had to dig deep in the third set, again coming from a break to win four games in a row to take the lead.

After a closely-contested fourth set was forced to a tiebreak, Tsitsipas eased to a 7-2 win and collapsed to the floor when the 30-year-old's shot only found the net.

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 last four at Melbourne Park since Andy Roddick in 2003 and the youngest at any slam since Novak Djokovic at the US Open in 2007.

Additional reporting from the Press Association.

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