Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios fought back from match point down to overhaul Roger Federer’s conquerer Andreas Seppi in five sets and reach the Australian Open quarter-finals on Sunday.
The 53rd-ranked Kyrgios defeated the 46th-ranked Italian 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) 8-6 and will play either Andy Murray or Grigor Dimitrov in the final eight.
Kyrgios fought off a match point at 5-6 in the fourth set and went on to force a tiebreaker before downing Seppi in a titanic fifth set in front of a charged home crowd on Hisense Arena.
It will be the second quarter-final inside a year for the 19-year-old after he reached the last eight at Wimbledon, becoming the first male teen to reach multiple Grand Slam quarter-finals since Federer in 2001.
“When I saw I had finally won the match it was incredible. It was the best feeling I ever had,” Kyrgios said.
“To know the body could come back from two sets to love, knowing I haven’t had matches, it’s just massive confidence.”
Kyrgios staged a pulsating comeback and finished with 66 winners, 25 of them aces, and 74 unforced errors given his mercurial make-or-break playing style.
He broke Seppi’s serve three times and lost his service three times.
Kyrgios said when he faced match point he thought back to his second round match with Frenchman Richard Gasquet at Wimbledon when he saved nine match points before advancing.
He also became the first teenager during last year’s Wimbledon to defeat world number one Rafael Nadal at a slam since Nadal beat Federer at the 2005 French Open.
“I think this one feels a bit better, honestly,” Kyrgios said, comparing his latest win to his Wimbledon experience last year.
“There was a lot of expectation coming into this tournament. I was out for a couple weeks before the Sydney International.
“I wasn’t expecting anything, especially not the quarter-finals. And it’s just massive, especially to do it in front of your home crowd.”
Kyrgios is a fast-rising star in the game and is the first Australian to reach the quarter-finals of his home Grand Slam since Lleyton Hewitt in 2005.
Of his impending quarter-final on Tuesday, Kyrgios said: “I think I’ll be pulling up better than I did at Wimbledon. I know what to expect, what I am going to be feeling, especially after a five-set match like that.
“I need to do everything I can: nutrition, get a good night’s rest, do some mobility, get a hit out tomorrow. I just got so much more confidence in my body now.”