Roger Federer was knocked out of Wimbledon by world No.18 Hubert Hurkacz on Wednesday.
This was the first occasion when that the 24-year-old Polish tennis star had arrived at the quarterfinals, while Federer was showing up in his eighteenth.
In the event that the eight-time champion’s exit was a shock, its way was much more so – Hurkacz prevailed in three sets – 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-0.
The 39-year-old Federer was trying to become most seasoned man to arrive at Wimbledon semifinals in the Open period, however he looked a sad remnant of the player that has graced Center Court over such countless years.
The Swiss star made 31 unforced errors; Hurkacz made only 12.
Federer went through two knee medical procedures in 2020 and had been focusing on a 10th Wimbledon title on his number one grass court surface.
In June he had removed from the French Open after his third-round win over Dominik Koepfer to secure his knee.
Federer’s loss on Wednesday was just his fourteenth in 119 matches at Wimbledon and his first consecutive sets misfortune at the grass court stupendous hammer since 2002, the year prior to his first title there.
“I noticed the mishits, awkward looking points from Roger and obviously the last set of course, 6-0,” three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker told the BBC.
The goal is to play
Facing the media and inquired as to whether he was thinking about retirement, Federer answered that halting playing wasn’t at the forefront of his thoughts.
“No, it’s just about having perspective,” Federer told reporters. “You need a goal when you’re going through rehab with what I did.
“You can’t think of the entire mountain to climb as once. You got to go in steps. Wimbledon was the initial first super step.
“For me, now that that’s over, you just got to reassess everything. You have got to sit down, talk about it, what went well, what didn’t go so well, where is the body, where is the knee, where is the mind?
“I’ve just got to talk to the team, take my time, not feel rushed by you guys [the media] or anybody else, for that matter. I’ve got to take my time, take the right decision, the one decision I want to take and where I feel most comfortable.
“That’s where it leaves me. But, no, I hope not that that’s going to happen. The goal is to play, of course.”
Hurkacz will challenge his first amazing hammer elimination round – he is just the subsequent Polish man to arrive at the Wimbledon last four after Jerzy Janowicz did it in 2013.
The Pole will confront Italy’s Matteo Berrettini on Friday, while Novak Djokovic will meet Denis Shapovalov in the other semifinal.
Chasing his 20th grand slam title, Djokovic crushed Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 6-3 6-4 6-4 on Wednesday, while Canadian Shapovalov conquered Russia’s Karen Khachanov 6-4 3-6 5-7 6-1 6-4.
In the interim Berrettini better of Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, with the Italian winning in four sets – 6-3 5 7-5 6-3.
