Federer suffers shock loss in Wimbledon quarterfinal
Anderson wins five- setter to send Swiss ace packing in QFs
London, July 11: Roger Federer suffered a stunning Wimbledon exit as the defending champion blew a two- set lead and wasted a match point in a 2- 6, 6- 7 ( 5/ 7), 7- 5, 6- 4, 13- 11 quarterfinal defeat against South Africa’s Kevin Anderson on Wednesday.
Federer’s bid to win a ninth Wimbledon title came to an astonishing end as the Swiss star collapsed in a nail- biting four hour and 13 minute classic that ranks as one of the tournament’s greatest upsets.
It was Federer’s earliest departure from Wimbledon since his shock second round defeat against Sergiy Stakhovsky in 2013.
Eighth seed Anderson will play 2016 runner- up Milos Raonic or American ninth seed John Isner on Friday for a place in Sunday’s final.
Earlier, three- time champion Novak Djokovic reached his eighth Wimbledon semi- final with a 6- 3, 3- 6, 6- 2, 6- 2 win over Japan’s Kei Nishikori in a stormy Centre Court clash.
Djokovic, 31, will be playing in his 32nd Slam semifinal where he will face either world number one Rafael Nadal or fifth- seeded Juan Martin del Potro.
It will be Djokovic’s first semi- final at a major since the 2016 French Open when he completed the career Grand Slam.
The 12- time major winner prevailed despite picking up two code violations and accusing umpire Carlos Ramos of “double standards”.
“I think the first warning was unnecessary,” said Djokovic, who was sanctioned in the second set for spearing his racquet into the court. “It didn’t harm the grass. Kei did the same in the fourth set but wasn’t warned.
“The umpire said he didn’t see. I don’t think it’s fair but it is what it is.” Despite his anger, Djokovic still reeled off 10 of the last 12 games of the quarter- final.
“It feels great to be back in the last four of a Slam. I’ve been building in the last couple of weeks and my level of tennis is going up,” he said.
“I am peaking at the right moment.”
After racing through the first set, Djokovic was handed his first code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct after bouncing his racquet into the grass in frustration at squandering three break points in the third game of the second set. “Do you think I ruined the court?” he bellowed at Ramos.
The 2011, 2014 and 2015 champion was clearly unsettled by the dispute, quickly surrendering the set. Djokovic saved three break points in the fifth game of the third and made the Japanese star pay. —