“Easy as 1-2-3… Stefanos Tsitsipas becomes the first Greek player to reach the round of 16 at a Grand Slam since 2004 with a convincing 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 win over Thomas Fabbiano.” This was how the official Wimbledon account on Twitter described the young tennis star’s impressive victory on Friday.

“I feel extremely proud that I can be the first Greek in the Open era in the fourth round of a Grand Slam,” he told Reuters. “It’s an amazing feeling, and I feel very proud that I represent Greece and that all of my hard work has paid off. ”

Tsitsipas currently ranks 35th in the Association of Tennis Professionals list, being part of the ATP’s Next Gen — the young guns led by Alexander Zverev who are expected to be challenging for Grand Slam titles in the not-too-distant future.

Born in August 1998, Tsitsipas comes from an athletic family – his mother is a former top tennis player from Russia, who worked as a coach at the Astir resort in Athens; his father was also working there, but he resigned to focus on Stefanos’ athletic career.

His meteoric rise – he went from 94th to in little more than six months – has made him a media favourite, with reporters comparing him with German tennis legend Boris Becker.

On Monday, the 19-year-old will face big-serving American John Isner.