Streaks of red clay tattooed his skin and pain was etched on his face.
Stan Wawrinka and Stefanos Tsitsipas engaged in a heart-felt embrace after the 2015 Roland Garros champion edged the sixth-seeded Greek in a pulsating five-hour, nine-minute epic that was the best match of this Roland Garros.
Federer: One-Handed Backhand Will Survive
Tsitsipas did the right thing attacking on match point only to see Wawrinka whip an outrageously brilliant one-handed backhand pass down the line that struck the sideline to end a spectacular fight.
The grueling 7-6, 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 victory propelled Wawrinka into an all-Swiss quarterfinal clash vs. Roger Federer, while Tsitsipas, who beat Federer en route to the Australian Open semifinals in January, was left ruing opportunity lost.
An emotional Tsitsipas conceded he cried afterward.
"I feel exhausted," Tsitsipas said. "I don't know. Never experienced something like this in my life. I feel very disappointed at the end. Long time since I cried after a match, so emotionally wasn't easy to handle. I will try to learn from it as much as I can."
You can understand the 20-year-old Greek's anguish: Tsitsipas converted just five of 27 break-point chances. A strong-willed Wawrinka denied all eight break points he faced in the final set.
Tsitsipas won exactly one more point overall (195 to 194), but was left "empty" by a gut-wrenching defeat.
"My mind is so empty right now," Tsitsipas said. "Worse thing in tennis. It's the worst feeling ever. Especially when you lose. You don't want to be in my place."
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