Switzerland is today celebrating its first Australian Open boys’ singles semi-finalist since Roger Federer after Kilian Feldbausch reached the last four of this year’s junior event with victory over plucky American Ozan Colak.

Feldbausch, the No. 11 seed here, followed in the footsteps of legendary 20-time Grand Slam winner Federer after recovering from a set down to win a tense showdown, which lasted two hours and 23 minutes, 2-6 7-6(0) 6-4.  

The 16-year-old led 5-0 in the decisive third set but was pegged back to 5-4 by a resurgent Colak. However, despite squandering a series of match points, Feldbausch eventually delivered the knockout blow to reach the semis on his Junior Grand Slam debut.

He will now face Czech Republic’s Jakub Mensik for a place in the final as he bids to go one better than Federer, who succumbed to Sweden’s Andreas Vinciguerra in the last four here in 1998 and was forced to wait for his one and only Junior Grand Slam title.

“Being a Junior Grand Slam semi-finalist sounds very good and I am very happy and proud about this,” Feldbausch told itftennis.com. “The semi-finals are great, but I’m not finished yet.

“I am loving the Grand Slam environment. At the beginning of last year, I said I wanted to play the Grand Slams this season. Now I’m here and I am very happy and excited.

“It’s big when you’re here for the first time, it feels big. But it is a great experience and I love it – it’s all I’ve ever wanted. I feel at home and it really feels like I am playing with the big boys. It is great and I want more. This is just the beginning.”

Feldbausch is now just two victories away from joining an illustrious list of Swiss players, which includes Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Martina Hingis, Belinda Bencic and Billie Jean King Cup captain Heinz Gunthardt, to have won a Junior Grand Slam title.

The link between Switzerland’s stellar names of the past and the nation’s emerging talent is well-documented, with Federer known to have checked in with Swiss Tennis head coach Michael Lammer about Feldbausch’s progress and ongoing development.

“I know that Roger has asked Michael from time to time how I am doing and about my results,” said Feldbausch

“I have also had a hit with Roger on a couple of occasions and I learned that I have a very heavy ball. He is a great player, one of the best in the world, and he gives good advice. He is also very nice and gentle. It was a great experience.”

Elsewhere in the boys’ draw, there was drama as top seed Bruno Kuzuhara of the United States was forced to recover from a set down against Lithuania’s Edas Butvilas before taking his place in the semi-finals.

Brazil-born Kuzuhara trailed in the second set and survived match point at 5-4 before staging a defiant comeback, navigating a nervy tiebreak and winning a closely-fought encounter 3-6 7-6(3) 6-4.

Butvilas, who was crowned a Junior Grand Slam doubles champion alongside Spain’s Alejandro Manzanera Pertusa at Wimbledon last year, was unlikely to go quietly and also saved match points, although it proved in vain.

By reaching the semi-finals, Kuzuhara has recorded his best Junior Grand Slam result, having made the quarters at last year’s Junior Championships, Wimbledon. He faces Paragauy’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo for a place in the final.

Compared to Feldbausch and Kuzuhara, Vallejo – appearing at his fourth Junior Grand Slam – had a far more straightforward and stress-free progression to the last four after dispatching Mexico’s Rodrigo Pacheco 7-5 6-3.

Vallejo, who is a member of the Grand Slam Development Fund/ITF Touring Team, will become the first Paraguayan boy in history to contest a Junior Grand Slam singles semi-final and the first Paraguayan junior to do so since Larissa Schaerer in 1992.

An already notable day had an extra special crescendo, meanwhile, as Vallejo and his partner Alex Michelsen of the United States dispatched Canada’s Jaden Weekes and Tanapatt Nirundorn of Thailand to reach the final of the boys’ doubles.

“I am very tired but so happy to get the win in both singles and doubles,” Vallejo told itftennis.com. “I am proud to represent my country, especially when I hear statistics about Paraguayan players reaching semi-finals and finals.

“I don’t know of anyone else from Paraguay other than Victor Pecci to reach a Grand Slam singles final [Roland Garros in 1979], whether junior or pro, and I would be even more proud if I could achieve that.

“I have had a lot of messages from back home and it is amazing to have this level of support from your country. There is a lot of excitement in Paraguay and in the Touring Team that someone is in a semi-final and a final. I am so happy.”

The final last-eight tussle was won by No. 4 seed Mensik, who claimed his maiden Grade A title at Cape Town in October, following a commanding victory over Russia’s Yaroslav Demin. Mensik prevailed 6-0 6-1 and will now draw swords with Feldbausch.

Incidentally, Mensik is the first Czech player since Katerina Siniakova in 2013 to reach the semi-finals here. Siniakova defeated Anett Kontaveit in the last four before losing to Ana Konjuh in the final. Mensik will no doubt have designs on going one step further.

In the other semi-final showdown in the doubles, No. 2 seeds Kuzuhara and Coleman Wong of Hong Kong defeated France’s Gabriel Debru and new Swiss hero Feldbausch 6-4 6-4.