Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Australia — Roger Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, bowed out in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Sunday to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, a former top-ranked junior player whom he had never faced before in a tour-level event.
The No. 14 seeded Tsitsipas, 20, the youngest player remaining in the men’s draw, dispatched the third-seeded Federer, 6-7 (11), 7-6 (3), 7-5, 7-6 (5), at Rod Laver Arena in a match that unfurled like a four-hour passing of the torch.
Tsitsipas clinched the upset on a netted backhand by Federer, 37, who was bidding to become the oldest man to reach the quarterfinals here since 43-year-old Ken Rosewall in 1977.