Lights go out for Federer
Punch drunk Roger Federer admits he was so beaten up by John Millman and battered from the brutal New York heat he wanted out of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
‘‘I was just happy that the match was over,’’ Federer said after falling to the unfancied Australian in one of the great grand slam boilovers in New York yesterday.
In one of the few times in his unparalleled 1424-match career, Federer all but raised the white flag as he struggled to cope with Millman’s relentless counter-attacking and crushing humidity that has turned the US Open into a survival of the fittest.
‘‘It was very hot tonight . . . just one of those nights where I guess I felt I couldn’t get air,’’ the 20-times major winner said after relinquishing a oneset lead in his 3-6 7-5 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-3) fourth-round loss.
‘‘There was no circulation at all. I don’t know, for some reason I just struggled in the conditions. It’s one of the first times it’s happened to me.
‘‘Yeah, it’s uncomfortable. Clearly just keep on sweating more and more and more and more as the match goes on. You lose energy as it goes by.
‘‘But John was able to deal with it better. He comes from one of the most humid places on earth, Brisbane. I knew I was in for a tough one.’’
Gracious in defeat, Federer suspects Novak Djokovic might also be in for a tough one tomorrow when the 13-times major champion is next to run into Millman in what will be the Queenslander’s maiden grand slam quarterfinal.
‘‘I love his intensity,’’ Federer said of Millman, his summer hitting partner in Switzerland earlier this year.
‘‘He reminds me of David Ferrer and those other guys I admire a lot when I see them, when I see how they train, the passion they have for the game. I love his intensity. He’s got a positive demeanour about himself on and off the court.’’