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The 36th-ranked Basilashvili was the clear underdog against the
French Open finalist but mounted a stout defense to send the
Greek packing, saving six of 10 break points after picking up a
pair of ATP titles in Qatar and at the Bavarian Championships
earlier this year.
"Surprised? Not really," said Basilashvili. "In general, in the
game, from the baseline I'm physically as well feeling really
good, I'm playing good, feeling the ball really well. Again, if
I will manage this kind of serving well, I can keep playing
good."
He pointed to his first serve as a major point of recent
improvement - calling his "a big minus" previously - after
firing off five aces across the match on Friday.
But while beating a top-five player would be the highlight of
many players' year, Basilashvili said his win over Roger Federer
in March was the bigger accomplishment in his mind.
"My win against Roger meant a lot to me because he was my idol.
He is as for everyone, you know," he said. "I would say Roger's
win was very important in my career. Beating Stefanos today was,
as well, really, really important match."
Basilashvili is among a band of dark horse contenders to reach
the semi-final round at the California tournament, with Briton
Cameron Norrie, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and American Taylor
Fritz each upsetting higher-ranked opponents in the quarters.
He next faces Fritz, who defeated Olympic champion and world
number four Alexander Zverev on Friday.
"Just need to stay calm. Try to focus on my serve. Stay solid
from the baseline. And then just, yeah, just play the game. You
know, in the end it's a game and we will see. Hopefully I can
play well tomorrow," he said.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, Editing by Rosalba
O'Brien)
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