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Australian Open Fourth Round Upsets and Updates

By Harry Floyd

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 20: Frances Tiafoe of the United States plays a backhand in his fourth round match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during day seven of the 2019 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 20, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 20: Frances Tiafoe of the United States plays a backhand in his fourth round match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during day seven of the 2019 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 20, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) /
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Australian Open
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 20: Stefanos Tsitspas of Greece celebrates winning match point in his fourth round match against Roger Federer of Switzerland during day seven of the 2019 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 20, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images) /

We said that at least one of our top five favorites at the Australian Open would see an upset in the fourth round and there were ultimately two.

No-one expected the exit of the two-time defending champion Roger Federer at the Australian Open. He, like Djokovic, is also a six-time overall champ and was considered a top contender for the title yet again. If Federer is in the mix, he is a favorite. It is Next Generation ATP star Stefanos Tsitsipas who completes the upset.

Winning in four sets, the young Greek tennis star takes the match against his idol 6-7 (11-13) 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 7-6 (7-5). It’s tough to see Federer go, but at least we are witnessing a potential cinderella run for one of the sport’s next great stars in men’s singles. Up next for Tsitsipas is Roberto Bautista Agut who just knocked out last year’s runner-up Marin Cilic.

Read. Top 10 Young ATP Stars. light

Another rising ATP Tour star in Frances Tiafoe is making history. The young American burst onto the scene last year and has not let up. He has overtaken the likes of Jack Sock and others in conversations surrounding American men’s tennis. Tiafoe reaches the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park for the first time in his budding career by ousting tennis star Grigor Dimitrov.

The win over Dimitrov is HUGE. Tiafoe sets up a massive match against Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. Despite Nadal’s ongoing injury troubles toward the second half of the 2018 ATP Tour, he has appeared unstoppable at the Australian Open.

Nadal defeats Tomas Berdych in order to meet Tiafoe next. The second seeded Rafa is yet to drop a single set at Melbourne Park and should be considered the favorite until he shows us any sign of weakness. Tiafoe, just like Tsitsipas, could grab ahold of the moment and seize his chance at glory though. If there’s a place for storylines like this, it is the Australian Open.

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