Frances Tiafoe took off his tennis shirt after his victory, drumming his fist on the muscular right upper arm, then on the chest, shouting the cheers of his greatest success in the sky of Melbourne, went to all fours and hit the blue hard court, once, twice, three times, he shook his head and trotted back to his bench.
Had he actually defeated Grigor Dimitrov and moved into the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time?
In the on-court interview, just seconds later, "Big Foe" burst into tears. "It means so much to me, I ripped my butt off," he said, before putting his life story into a sentence: "I promised my parents ten years ago that I would become a professional and change their lives and lives. And now I'm in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament, I can not believe it all. "
The happiest of birthdays for @FTiafoe # OutOpen pic.twitter.com/S01ueEmEw3
- #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 20, 2019"The luckiest man on earth"
Stefanos Tsitsipas was not so emotional, but he was also seized: The Greek with long hair dropped his racket after his defeat of defending champion Roger Federer, looked at his box and slapped his hands in front of the net ran and shook the Swiss like the hand.
Tsitsipas then ran to the square, pointing in disbelief, saying, "How, was that me?", And then on to the audience, where hordes of Greek fans cheered him for nearly four hours. "I can not describe that, but I'm the luckiest person on earth right now," he said.
Tiafoe and Tsitsipas belong to the generation of Alexander Zverev, the German hopefuls who retired in the last sixteen. Their victories provide material for heroic stories - and yet they are so different.
Yes, you @ SceneTsitsipas!
You're into the #AusOpen quarterfinals pic.twitter.com/n9FJwedn0
From Sierra Leone to the USA
Frances Tiafoe, the strong American, became by chance a tennis player. His parents immigrated to the United States from Sierra Leone in the 1990s, and Father Constant found work at a construction company that built a tennis facility in Maryland. When the seats were finished, he was taken over as a caretaker and groundskeeper and lived in a small office on the plant.
So Frances and twin brother played Franklin Tennis, often against the ball wall, where Frances mimicked the beatings of the children from the academy and brainstormed against Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. One of the coaches, Misha Kouznetsov, recognized Tiafoe's potential, as did the American Tennis Association. "The rest is history," says Tiafoe, currently number 39 in the world.
Tsitsipas offers the more typical tennis history: Father Apostolos is a tennis coach, mother Julia Apostoli-Salnikova was a professional player from Russia. "The two different cultures have given me a completely different perspective on things," says Stefanos.
Changing of the guard as once with Federer?
"My mother has brought a lot of discipline into my game," says the world ranking 15, "in the Greek Kulur is not so common." But for the positive view of the world, Apostolos, who once saved his son from drowning, took his fear on the tennis court, as Stefanos Tsitsipas himself says.
Tiafoe and Tsitsipas are fundamentally different on the course. Tiafoe lives from his power, especially at the serve. Particularly striking is his wobbly forehand, which he beats with a strange dangling. Tsitsipas plays the more elegant tennis with a one-handed backhand, he looks for the way to the net and has for his age great understanding of the game, is strong on the defensive and can concentrate well.
"The intensity with which he played against Roger from start to finish was great," said Patrick Mouratoglou after the Federer match at Eurosport. The Frenchman is known as the coach of Serena Williams, but also trains Tsitsipas at his academy in Nice.
AFP
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Tiafoe meets Rafael Nadal, Tsitsipas meets Roberto Bautista Agut
While Tiafoe made with his successes over Wimbledon finalist Kevin Anderson and Dimitrov for surprises, Tsitsipas aroused the sensational victory over role model Federer some memories: In the round of 16 of the Wimbledon tournament in 2001 had the then world No. 15. Roger Federer defeated his idol Pete Sampras, two years later he won his first Wimbledon title. Was Tsitsipas's success in Melbourne a new change of guards?
Old Master John McEnroe sees it this way, Roger Federer remained relaxed after his break. "I've been hearing this for ten years," he said, and the numbers still speak for him. Alexander Zverev, Denis Shapovalov, Alex de Minaur, Tsitsipas or Tiafoe - they have not yet reached the semifinals or finals of a major tournament.
At this year's Australian Open, there could be one, with Tiafoe having the worse cards: While Tsitsipas meets Roberto Bautista Agut (Tuesday, 2.30 CET, TV: Eurosport), "Big Foe" gets involved with Rafael Nadal (10.30 Clock).
LYNN BO BO / EPA-EFE / REX
Frances Tiafoe