sport news Australian Open has been left dazzled by the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas

Anxiety tends to spread through tennis when it considers the expected departures of Roger Federer and Andy Murray, and the ages of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Federer's announcement that he is planning to play the clay-court tournaments this season is taken by some as a possible signal of a long farewell, and the latter pair will turn 32 and 33 this year.

And then along comes Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 20-year-old Greek who will tackle Nadal in the semi-final of the Australian Open. He will be the youngest to have got this far at a Grand Slam since Novak Djokovic here in 2007.

Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates after defeating Roberto Bautista Agut in Melbourne on Tuesday

Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates after defeating Roberto Bautista Agut in Melbourne on Tuesday

The 20-year-old dropped to the floor after sealing the match in a fourth-set tie break

The 20-year-old dropped to the floor after sealing the match in a fourth-set tie break

The emergence of this startling talent - and complete package in terms of application, looks and charisma - provides reassurance that the stock of marquee names will ultimately be replenished.

With the demeanour of an art student and the very modern hobby of producing his own YouTube videos, there seem few limits to what he might achieve.

It was widely expected that in Tuesday's quarter-final he would fall flat following his dismissal of Federer. These things often happen after big victories, and much had been made of how Federer crumbled to Tim Henman after his initial significant win at Wimbledon over Pete Sampras in 2001.

Instead Tsitsipas was able to carve out a very significant win over Roberto Bautista Agut - the man who might yet go down as Murray's last ever opponent following their epic on the opening day - and will face Nadal.

The shiny new star also has the knack of producing talking points that accompany his matches.

Tsitsipas booked his place in the semi-finals of the Australian Open after 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 win

Tsitsipas booked his place in the semi-finals of the Australian Open after 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 win

On this occasion it was not just the time violations against the new 25-second shot clock, but also the warning for being coached from his support box, which contains none other than Patrick Mouratoglou, who has been in his box moonlighting from his day job as Serena Williams' mentor.

But Tsitsipas insisted that it was his father who was the

read more from dailymail.....

NEXT sport news Piers Morgan names two current stars in his greatest Arsenal XI of all time... ... trends now