Roger Federer vs Mischa Zverev, Australian Open 2017
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - 22/1/17 Switzerland's Roger Federer celebrates winning his Men's singles fourth round match against Japan's Kei Nishikori. Reuters / Edgar Su

Roger Federer, the 17-time Grand Slam champion, will face German journeyman Mischa Zverev in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Australian Open at the Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday evening.

Zverev, the 30-year-old southpaw, stunned the world by ousting World No. 1 Andy Murray during the fourth-round Sunday and will pose a legitimate threat to Federer, who is seeking his first Grand Slam title since the 2012 Wimbledon. The Swiss legend, who missed two out of the four Slams in 2015, has been playing sublime tennis at Melbourne Park but needed five sets to get past Japan's Kei Nishikori in the fourth round.

Zverev, a player who relies heavily on his serve-and-volley game, has already taken out John Isner and Malek Jaziri, besides upsetting Murray, and is viewed by many analysts as a wild card favourite to win the first Grand Slam of 2017. After beating Murray, the World No. 50 said that he was in a trance-like state and shocked himself with his quality of play. “I was like in a little coma, just serve-and-volleying my way through it (against Murray). I think you should tell me how I did it because honestly there were a few points when I don’t know how I pulled it off," the Russian-born German said, via The Telegraph.

Roger Federer vs Mischa Zverev: Swiss master in sublime form

Meanwhile, Federer, who hasn't reached a Grand Slam final since the 2015 US Open, sent out warning signs to his opponents after overcoming a stiff challenge posed by fifth seed Nishikori. "I was playing way better than the first couple of rounds where I put in a lot of mental energy to stay with my opponents, figure them out, how were they going to play, how were the conditions going to be -- understanding the comeback really.

"I think now that I'm in the tournament I was able to focus point per point on my opponent, on the tactics. That didn't drain me much. I felt great in the fifth, which I'm very happy about," added Federer, who could face fellow Swiss star Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals later this week. Wawrinka, who won the 2014 Australian Open has emerged as the new odds-on favourite to win the tournament, in the aftermath of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray's early exits.

The tennis world is abuzz with the possibility of a Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal final on Sunday. Both legends need to win two games each to set up their first Grand Slam match since the 2014 Australian Open semi-final which the Spaniard won 7-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Watch Roger Federer vs Mischa Zverev live stream: How to watch

Time: 08:00 (GMT), 6:00 PM (AEST), 7:00 PM (AEDT), 3:00 AM (ET)
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