Taylor Fritz Tatang Novak Djokovic In The Quarter-finals Of The Australian Open

US tennis player Taylor Fritz will challenge Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, Sunday (21/1). (Between/AFP/Getty Images/Brett Davis/aa)

JAKARTA - American 12th seed Taylor Fritz eliminated last year's Australian Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas from the tournament on Sunday to advance to the quarter-finals and challenge defending champion Novak Djokovic.

The match was tight on the opening two sets. However, Fritz stepped up his pace by beating the seventh seed from Greece 7-6(7/3), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 within three hours.

Fritz said the key was to "trust the blow," coupled with a good serve throughout the game.

The 26-year-old has a record of losing 0-8 in head-to-head meetings with Djokovic, but he says his performance has improved and enjoyed a fight against the top seed.

"When I play it, I haven't shown my best level and you need to do it if you want to complete it with someone like Djokovic," Fritz said as broadcast by AFP on Sunday.

The first set that went tight continued with a tiebreak, where Fritz quickly took the lead and did not let go of his lead.

The second set is Tsitsipas's turn to win to equalize 7-5.

Fritz broke service twice in the third set to take the lead and repeated this in the fourth set, winning the last four games to win.

Meanwhile, Djokovic, who advanced to the quarter-finals after beating 20th seed Adrian Mannarino 6-0, 6-0, 6-3. The quarter-final match will be held Wednesday, January 24.