Roger Federer has been knocked out of the year’s Australian Open, beaten by a little known Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas  in four tight sets. Tsitsipas defeated  Federer 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 7-6.

“I am the happiest man on Earth right now,” Tsitsipas said after the match. “Roger is a legend in our sport. I have so much respect for him he showed such good tennis. “I have idolised him since the age of six. It was a dream come true for me just to be on Rod Laver facing him and winning against him I cannot describe it.”

Federer acknowledged that he lost to a better player, saying ”  “I lost to a better player who was playing very well tonight. Hung in there, gave himself chances at some point, stayed calm. It’s not always easy,  especially for younger guys. Credit to him for taking
care of that.

Federer also saw himself in the Greek: “He has a one-handed backhand and I used to have long hair, too. Yeah, so maybe a little bit, sure. He has more of a continental grip than players nowadays. Sure, that’s a bit more my way than, let’s say Rafa”.

In other matches, Rafael Nadal was his ruthless best and easily beat Tomas Berdych 6-0 6-1 7-6(4).

Women’s world number 15 Ashleigh Barty recorded an incredible 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 comeback victory in Melbourne over Maria Sharapova.  Sharapova tooks a somewhat controversial bathroom break between second and third set but didn’t help change the momentum in the match.

Top seed Novak Djokovic lost a set to Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov but cleaned up his game in time to reach fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-3 6-4 4-6 6-0 victory on Saturday.

Djokovic’s request to turn off the artificial lights was ignored during the third set. He lost his composure temporarily losing two consecutive break of serves to concede the  third set.

“The lights being switched on at 5pm was completely unnecessary,” Djokovic said, adding that he should not have let it get to him. “I was agitated. It should not happen to me. I should know better. I have experience. But it does happen. I allowed him to come back to the match. Other than when I was 4-1, 4-2 up in the third set and had a little let-down, I thought I played well, especially in the fourth set. I expected Denis to come out and be aggressive. He made a lot of unforced errors for the first set and a half. I just stayed solid from back of the court and served well, played the right shots. But I like the fact that I was tested.”

On the women’s side, number 1 seed Simona Halep sent American Venus Williams packing  with 6-2, 6-3 victory. Halep next plays Serena Williams.