Last updated on .From the section Tennis Frances Tiafoe's previous best Grand Slam performance was his third-round appearance at Wimbledon in 2018 Australian Open 2019 Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 14-27 January Coverage: Daily live commentaries on the BBC Sport website, listen to Tennis Breakfast daily from 07:00 GMT on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and watch highlights on BBC TV and online from 19 January. Fifth seed Kevin Anderson is out of the Australian Open after being beaten in four sets by American Frances Tiafoe. Anderson, who reached the final at Wimbledon in 2018, took the first set 6-4 but his 20-year-old opponent fought back to take the next three 6-4 6-4 7-5 and seal a place in the third round. World number 39 Tiafoe had never previously progressed beyond the second round in Melbourne. Elsewhere, Marin Cilic beat Mackenzie McDonald 7-5 6-7 (9-11) 6-4 6-4. The Croatian sixth seed was pushed hard in the early stages of the match but his class eventually showed against the 23-year-old American. Cilic will play Spaniard Fernando Verdasco next, while Tiafoe's reward for his shock win is a match against Italy's Andreas Seppi, who earlier beat home player Jordan Thompson in straight sets. "It means the world to me," said Tiafoe, speaking on court after his victory. "I lost to Kevin three times last year. "I would love to get to the second week of a Slam and if you guys get behind me like you did again, then it's going to be pretty easy for me." Roberto Bautista Agut, who beat Britain's Andy Murray in the first round, had to dig deep again to beat Australia's John Millman. The Spanish 22nd seed eventually won 6-3 6-1 3-6 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 in three hours 48 minutes. Also through is Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Serb Viktor Troicki 6-3 2-6 6-2 7-5. He plays Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili next. Czech Tomas Berdych, whose 2018 season was disrupted by injury, raced past Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-1 6-3 6-3. American Reilly Opelka, who stunned ninth seed John Isner in the first round, hit 67 aces but lost 6-7 (15-17) 6-2 6-4 3-6 7-6 (10-5) to Thomas Fabbiano.<doc-sep>Melbourne, Australia (CNN) After engineering the first big upset of the Australian Open, Frances Tiafoe had a celebration to match. He thumped his chest, flashed his right bicep and then pointed to it. "It is kind of an instinct thing," Tiafoe told reporters after his 4-6 6-4 6-4 7-5 win over Kevin Anderson Wednesday. "I hope the crowd liked it." They certainly seemed to -- and the 20-year-old US player, part of the ATP's "Next Gen," certainly liked the result, too, as he defeated the 2018 Wimbledon finalist to reach the third round. Frances Tiafoe celebrates after ousting fifth seed Kevin Anderson at the Australian Open. The world No. 39 came from behind, prevailing over the fifth seed on Margaret Court Arena to match his best showing at a grand slam. But the two most successful men's players in grand slams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, left day three unscathed by posting straight-set wins over Dan Evans and Matt Ebden, respectively. Anderson famously outlasted Tiafoe's countryman John Isner in a 6-hour, 30-minute semifinal at Wimbledon but he suffered physically Wednesday, receiving treatment to his right, serving elbow. That would help to explain why the 6-foot-8 South African only struck 13 aces, below his average of around 16 in the last campaign. Tiafoe, who learned his craft at a tennis center near Washington, D.C., where his father was the custodian, more than played his part in the final game when he saved two break points before clinching matters by serving and volleying. Ended long losing streak TIafoe's wins in Melbourne are likely sweeter because he had lost nine consecutive matches -- including the Hopman Cup and Next Gen ATP Finals -- before arriving at the season's first major. That run included losing all three of his doubles matches at the Hopman Cup despite being paired with the legendary Serena Williams. He also lost a tough five-set match to Russia's Karen Khachanov at Wimbledon last year, fading in the final two sets. Frances Tiafoe and Serena Williams played doubles together at the Hopman Cup this month. Tiafoe, whose parents emigrated to the US from Sierra Leone, said spending time with 23-time grand slam winner Williams helped him, even if they didn't achieve any wins together in Perth. "She's so nice," Tiafoe told reporters. "Such a good competitor. Off the court, she's so chilled and relaxed. Once she gets on, she hates losing. It's unacceptable. "I definitely felt that, playing. I was about as nervous as could be. Yeah, no, I think we grew a pretty good relationship. Yeah, I think that week definitely helped me long run." Tiafoe is one of the younger Americans tipped for big things. Another of them, Taylor Fritz, pulled off another upset when he eliminated French 30th-seed Gael Monfils 6-3 6-7 (8-10) 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5). He saved a set point at 5-6 in the third set as Monfils missed a backhand wide in a 23-shot rally. Taylor Fritz upset Gael Monfils Wednesday at the Australian Open. Fritz's US roommate in Melbourne, Mackenzie Macdonald, tested last year's finalist Marin Cilic before exiting 7-5 6-7 (9-11) 6-4 6-4 and a fourth American under the age of 24, 7-foot Reilly Opelka, lost to Italy's Thomas Fabbiano 6-7 (17-15) 6-2 6-4 3-6 7-6 (10-5) despite clubbing 67 aces. How many aces did the 5-foot-8 Fabbiano hit? Two. Looking to end drought American women, led by Williams -- of course -- have long gone deep at grand slams but Andy Roddick was the last US man to bag a major, triumphing in 2003 in New York. Federer, who holds the all-time men's record with 20 grand slams, had perennially picked on his pal Roddick in grand slam finals. Bidding for three in a row in Melbourne and what would be a record seventh overall, the 37-year-old progressed thanks to a hard-fought 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win on the main Rod Laver Arena. The tussle was punctuated with entertaining all-court rallies which Federer said he enjoyed, even in the heat of battle. "I liked the match," said Federer. "I thought he was playing well. It was enjoyable, yeah." JUST WATCHED Roger Federer muses on retirement planning Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Roger Federer muses on retirement planning 03:18 The talented but troubled Evans received a one-year drug ban for testing positive for cocaine in 2017. His ranking tumbled from a high of 41st that season to nearly 1,200th in 2018 but Federer knew of the dangers the 28-year-old presented. Now ranked 189th, Federer thought a top-50 return was "no problem" for the Birmingham native. Evans had chances Evans led the first set tiebreak 5-4 with two serves to come but erred while attempting to volley a fine Federer return. If that was a forced error, he made an unforced error on the next point by missing a much more makeable forehand volley. Foot blisters troubled Evans although he broke Federer to stay in the second set, only for the Swiss to claim the second tiebreak. Federer downed Nadal in a classic 2017 final in five sets and the longtime friends and rivals are still on course to meet in the semifinals this year, since the 17-time major winner crushed Ebden 6-3 6-2 6-2 in the night session. Rafael Nadal crushed Matt Ebden at the Australian Open on Wednesday. Up next for the Spaniard is a third straight Australian, 2018 ATP Newcomer of the Year Alex De Minaur, who needed five sets to see off Henri Laaksonen 6-4 6-2 6-7 (7-9) 4-6 6-3. De Minaur is the latest young men's hope from Australia and the level-headed 19-year-old appears to be on a better path than Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic. They were also top prospects but have made more headlines for their indiscretions than results. Defending women's champion Caroline Wozniacki eased past Sweden's Johanna Larsson 6-1 6-3 and will face Maria Sharapova in round three after the five-time grand slam winner beat another Swede Rebecca Peterson 6-2 6-1.<doc-sep>Sandra Harwitt Special to USA TODAY Sports MELBOURNE — No sooner had Frances Tiafoe nailed down the most significant upset of this Australian Open to date with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 second-round win over No. 5 seed Kevin Anderson, he was celebrating. He started screaming "C’mon," and then took his fist from his left hand and started to pound on the muscle on his right arm in a display meant to accentuate just how strong he is. The only issue that resulted from the Maryland native's jubilant display Wednesday was that his necklace tangled into the button of his polo shirt. As it turned out a ball boy, clearly possessing excellent dexterity, skillfully released the necklace. “It means the world to me,” Tiafoe told the crowd of beating the better-known South African. “I lost to Kevin three times last year. I was down a set-and-a-break today and it looks like he was getting the fourth. “I just went to a different place. I dug deep. It’s just how bad you want it and I wanted it bad.” The second-round victory ended the 39th-ranked Tiafoe’s six-match losing streak against top-10 opponents. The last time he pushed past a top-10 player was when he defeated 10th-ranked Juan Martin del Potro en route to his first career ATP title at the 2018 Delray Beach tournament last February. The win over del Potro was particularly poignant as the Argentine was Tiafoe’s childhood idol. More:Frances Tiafoe admits he got nervous playing alongside Serena More:Daughter's celebrity doll 'Qai Qai' holds special place in Serena Williams' family More:Serena Williams stars in Super Bowl ad for a brand that salutes 'ultimate first mover' Anderson helped Tiafoe to secure the match when he double-faulted on a second break point in the 11th game of the fourth set. In the next game, Tiafoe managed to recover from facing two break points on his serve in the final game to claim the match with a winning volley. Tiafoe is the son of immigrants from Sierra Leone who moved to the United States to give Frances, and his twin brother, Franklin, more opportunity in life. His father started working on the construction of the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland, and stayed on to be the caretaker of the facility, which led to Frances’ introduction to the sport. A superbly talented athlete, Tiafoe quickly garnered attention in junior circles when at age 15 he won the prestigious 18-and-under Orange Bowl tournament in South Florida. He was also a boys’ semifinalist at the 2014 US Open. Tiafoe, who will turn 21 in five days, placed a request with the Margaret Court Arena crowd before he headed back to the locker room. He asked the spectators to continue to cheer for him in his upcoming third-round encounter against Italian veteran Andreas Seppi. It’s a good thing for Tiafoe that Seppi bypassed Australian Jordan Thompson 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round because there was no chance of loyal Australian fans siding with an American over one of their own. The victory over Anderson, a 2017 US Open and 2018 Wimbledon finalist, finds Tiafoe equaling his best previous result at a major, which was reaching the Wimbledon third-round last year. Anderson’s best results at the Australian Open is reaching the round-of-16 on three previous occasions. The 32-year-old arrived in Melbourne having won his sixth career title at the Pune, India, tournament, but he couldn’t build on that momentum to remain in the Australian Open mix. On the women’s side, 17-year-old American Amanda Anisimova, took out 24th seed Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine 6-0, 6-2<doc-sep>
Wednesday saw a breakthrough of sorts for Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz; Sloane Stephens also advanced. MELBOURNE, Australia — Frances Tiafoe rolled up his white shirt's right sleeve, flexed his biceps and slapped the muscle five times. Then he pounded his chest and yelled, ''Yeah! Let's go! Let's go! Come on!'' Forgive the young American's exuberance. This was, after all, the biggest victory of his nascent career. Down a set and 3-0 in the second, the 20-year-old Tiafoe came back to stun two-time Grand Slam finalist and No. 5 seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 on Wednesday in the Australian Open's second round. ''I went to a different place. I dug insanely deep,'' the 39th-ranked Tiafoe said. ''It's all about competing. Guys are so good. It's just about how badly you want it. I want it real bad.'' He was joined in the third round by another kid from the U.S. who'd never been that far at Melbourne Park, 21-year-old Taylor Fritz, who saved 12 of the 13 break points he faced while dispatching No. 30 seed Gael Monfils of France 6-3, 6-7 (8), 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5). Next for Fritz is a matchup against Roger Federer, the two-time defending champion in Australia and owner of 20 Grand Slam titles. ''I grew up watching a lot of the guys I play today. I can't tell you how many times I watched Monfils' highlight reel on YouTube, just growing up. `Fed,' obviously, my whole life growing up, he was always the best, winning everything,'' Fritz said. ''So it's really cool being able to step on the court with him again.'' A day after American men went 1-5, the country's contingent produced those two upsets and threw a couple of scares into other seeded players, too, but couldn't pull off the wins. Mackenzie McDonald pushed No. 6 Marin Cilic before losing 7-5, 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-4, and Denis Kudla went to a fifth set before bowing out 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-7 (6), 6-4 against No. 18 Diego Schwartzman. Reilly Opelka, a 21-year-old who eliminated No. 9 John Isner in an all-U.S. showdown in the first round, held a 67-2 ace advantage - and a 15-inch (38-centimeter) height advantage - against Thomas Fabbiano but lost to the Italian 6-7 (15), 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5). ''This group (of Americans) really deserves the hype, I guess, because I think everyone's good,'' Fritz said. Cilic was the 2014 U.S. Open champion and the runner-up at Melbourne Park to Federer last year. Against McDonald, an NCAA champion in singles and doubles at UCLA who is 23 years old and ranked 81st, Cilic delivered 25 aces, including on each of the last two points. ''It was a much tougher match than I expected,'' Cilic said. ''I didn't know much about him.'' For Tiafoe, it helped that Anderson's best attribute, his intimidating serve, slowed down along the way because of problems with his right arm. Anderson was repeatedly visited by a trainer during changeovers and he lost about 5 mph (10 kph) on his first serves as the match wore on. Anderson was the runner-up at Wimbledon last year and at the U.S. Open in 2017 and had won all three previous matchups against Tiafoe. But Tiafoe ended a six-match losing streak against top-10 opponents and is now into the third round at a major for the second time, equaling his best showing. ''These are the matches where they kind of define you and help you feel more and more comfortable to keep winning matches like that,'' Tiafoe said. ''So, yeah, I'm definitely going to remember this one.'' As for his postmatch flex, Tiafoe said: ''I hope the crowd liked it.'' Defeat Andreas Seppi of Italy next, and Tiafoe would make his debut in the second week of a Grand Slam. He turns 21 on Monday and said: ''If I'm playing on that day and beat somebody, that's the best present I can get.'' Federer, seeking a record seventh Australian Open title and third in a row, reached the third round by beating Dan Evans 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-3. ''I couldn't pull away early in the match,'' said Federer, who actually was two points from dropping the opening set. The defending women's champion, Caroline Wozniacki, also advanced in straight sets, beating Johanna Larsson 6-1, 6-3, and could face Maria Sharapova next. Three-time major champion Angelique Kerber moved on with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over qualifier Beatriz Haddad Maia.