'Incredible, definitely the best match of my life'

Before Sunday, Mischa Zverev was best known in Australia for his exceptionally talented younger brother and his bit part in Nick Kyrgios' meltdown in Shanghai.

But his fourth-round defeat of world No.1 Andy Murray at the Australian Open has ensured few at Melbourne Park will be forgetting his name anytime soon.

The German's astonishing 7-5 5-7 6-2 6-4 triumph stunned the tennis world and left the men's draw wide open following defending champion Novak Djokovic's second-round elimination.

Zverev celebrates as Murray crashes out. Image: Getty

Zverev, who will face four-time Open champion Roger Federer in the quarter-finals, struggled to find the words to describe his performance.

"Definitely the best match of my life, not only because it was a best-of-five set match (and) it was at a slam," Zverev said.

"I don't know. It was just incredible. I believed in myself. I believed in my game.

"I believed that playing serve and volley against him and slicing a lot, trying to destroy his rhythm was going to work, which it did in the end."

Zverev's younger brother Alexander was considered by far the most likely of the pair to make a deep run at the Open before his agonising five-set loss to Rafael Nadal on Saturday.

The teenage prodigy was on hand at Rod Laver Arena to cheer on his older sibling, with Zverev saying the family support helped him to stay calm.

"My mum was always smiling. That helps," he said.

"My dad's focused. Everybody else was just chilling. I feel like there's a good atmosphere going on, which keeps me entertained and focused on the court."

Zverev's road to the Open included a memorable encounter with Kyrgios at the Shanghai Masters in October, which led to the firebrand Australian being slapped with an eight-week ban for tanking.

The left-hander entered this year's Open having made it past the first round just once in five previous appearances.

But it certainly didn't show, with three-time grand slam champion Murray struggling to handle the left-hander's remarkable play at the net.

Image: Getty

"It just wasn't meant to be," the Scot said.

"He served very well when he needed to, especially when he was behind in games. He deserved to win.

"He came back from all of the mistakes that he made, kept coming up with great shots. There's not too much you can do about that. It was obviously disappointing to lose. But he did some good stuff out there."

The huge boilover blows the draw wide open after second seed Novak Djokovic was also sent packing at the hands of Dennis Istomin in the second round.

It is the first time since 2004 that the top two men's seeds have failed to reach the quarter-finals of a grand slam.

Commentating for the Seven Network, former world No.1 Jim Courier summed up the mood at Melbourne Park.

"If you'd told me at the beginning of the tournament there would be a Zverev in the fourth round challenging a top player, I would have been absolutely right on board with you," he said.

"If you'd have said it was Mischa, you'd have had me. This is a genuine surprise."

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