Greek third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas won Jiri Lehecka in straight sets to set up an Australian Open semi-final with Karen Khachanov in Melbourne.
The match between Tsitsipas and Lehecka ended 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 win, although it was a closely-fought encounter.
Lehecka proved to be a tough opponent but the Greek came fully prepared as he frequently produced precise and powerful serves to escape tricky situations.
“It felt different this time from any other match [this week], but the most important thing is that at the end I found a solution,” said Tsitsipas who hopes to win his maiden Grand Slam title and reach No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
“It was a very difficult three-setter, one of the most difficult ones that I had so far in the competition.
“I think Jiri had a very good tournament. He is someone who started playing well recently and I wish him the best in the future because he is a great player.”
Lehecka had an impressive run in Melbourne having previously never won a Grand Slam match.
The 21-year-old Czech on his journey to the quarter-finals stunned 21st seed Borna Coric, Christopher Eubanks, 11th seed Cameron Norrie and sixth seed Felix Auger Aliassime.
Tsitsipas, in five meetings, has never lost to semi-final opponent Khachanov who earlier progressed to the last four of the Australian Open after he led Sebastian Korda 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 3-0 when the American was forced to retire with a wrist injury.
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