Brave Istomin goes down in heartbreaking fashion

Denis Istomin's fairytale Australian Open run has ended in heartbreaking fashion, with his body betraying him against Grigor Dimitrov.

The World No.117 from Uzbekistan looked a shadow of the man who shocked the world with his victory against Novak Djokovic in the second round, visibly hobbled by hip and hamstring issues and requiring mutliple medical timeouts.

Image: Getty

Istomin raced out of the blocks and took the first set 6-2, but it was all downhill from there as he was bundled out 7-6, 6-2, 6-1.

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However commentators and fans were in awe of the way Istomin fought and refused to call it quits prematurely.

"He's refused to give up and shake hands," John Fitzgerald said in commentary. "Much to his credit."

Dimitrov will now face 11th seed David Goffin, who earlier on Monday became the first Belgian man to reach the quarter finals of the Australian Open.

Istomin, who had never beaten a top-10 player at a major, made himself a household name with a remarkable five-set victory over World No.2 Djokovic on Thursday.

The 30-year-old equalled his best grand slam result in reaching the fourth round and will benefit from a $220,000 cheque and a huge rankings jump, which should allow him to qualify directly for the rest of 2017's majors.

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