World number three Roger Federer breezed into the fourth round of the 2019 Australian Open on Friday to set up an intriguing encounter with rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Defending champion Federer handed out a lesson to American Taylor Fritz as he recorded a 6-2 7-5 6-2 victory in just 88 minutes on his 100th match on the Rod Laver Arena.
The 37-year-old from Switzerland – chasing a record seventh title at Melbourne Park – also extended his Open-era record for the most appearances in the last 16 of a Grand Slam to 63.
Federer is yet to drop a set so far in the tournament but will face a real challenge when he takes on Tsitsipas, who has advanced to the fourth round Down Under for the first time in his career.
The Greek star was pushed to four sets for the third straight match although he had enough to fight past 18th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili, winning 6-3 3-6 7-6 6-4.
Federer played Tsitsipas in the recent mixed teams Hopman Cup, winning a closely-contested singles 7-6 7-6, and the Swiss is looking forward to taking on the 14th seed, who is 17 years his junior.
“I think he had to work extremely hard against Basilashvili,” he said.
“I’m happy for him. He’s playing so well and I’m looking forward to the match-up with him. I think it’s going to be a good one.
“I like how he mixes up his game and also comes to the net. So will I. I think we will see some athletic attacking tennis being played.”
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