SO HOT I COULDN’T BREATHE
Federer feels the heat as he crashes out to Aussie journeyman Millman
YOU can take your pick from two enduring images of Roger Federer’s 2018 US Open campaign, ended in the early hours of yesterday by the now celebrated journeyman, John Millman.
One is of the great champion, his sweat-soaked clothes stuck to his body like clingfilm, struggling to function properly in the suffocating 86˚F (30˚C) heat of the Arthur Ashe Stadium as he was bundled out of the fourth round.
The other comes in the shape of Saturday’s global internet hit when he played Nick Kyrgios in much cooler weather.
That much-viewed point saw him explode into an age-defying sprint to reach the angled shot of his opponent and somehow clip the ball round the net post to hit a sensational winner.
Federer’s millions of fans will comfort themselves with the memory of the latter, rather than the 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, 7-6 exit at the hands of the world No 55.
One defeat by a player whose Queensland heritage makes him well-equipped to deal with extreme conditions does not signal the end for Federer.
It does, however, contribute to a wider picture that shows a gradual deterioration in his results, hardly surprising at 37, as he slips further and further towards his tennis dotage.
The Swiss master was said to be in physical distress immediately after the match and left Flushing Meadows complaining about how the giant roof structure on Ashe has affected play, saying: ‘Since the roof is on, there is no air circulation in the stadium. That makes it a totally different US Open. You have soaking wet shorts, soaking wet everything.’
He added: ‘It was just one of those nights where I guess I felt I couldn’t get air. There was no circulation at all. For some reason, I just struggled in the conditions. It’s one of the first times it’s happened to me.’
He also departed as the holder of a 36-6 match record for the season, a ratio the vast majority of players would kill for. But it is not as good as the 39-4 he had at the same stage of his extraordinary 2017 comeback, and a comparison of how he has fared at respective events also tells a story.
By this point a year ago, he had played nine tournaments, the same as now. In two, he has fared better in 2018. In two, he has achieved the same finish. And in five, he has gone out earlier than before, the US Open being the latest.
In a sport that requires supreme physical conditioning, it should not be a shock that, at his age, there have been a few signals of the advancing years.
In the pre-Wimbledon final at Halle, he looked slightly stiff when losing to Borna Coric and, at SW19, he lost from two sets up to Kevin Anderson. Now, the summer has ended with him melting at Flushing Meadows.
Yet only when Federer starts losing on a regular basis to players such as Millman will he know the game is up, that his precious aura is being tarnished and there is no sign of that happening at this point.
It still takes a display of high quality to beat him and that is what the Australian produced.
The subject of when he might retire is a matter of much conjecture within tennis, but there is no sign he, himself, is preoccupied by the question.
Federer pledged to move on quickly and he remains firmly on course to play in London’s ATP Finals in November.
Many will be pleased for Millman — one of the most popular members of the locker room — who came so close to quitting with shoulder problems five years ago that he had a spell working in financial services in Brisbane.
He now goes on to face Novak Djokovic with temperatures expected to conveniently drop for the 31-year-old Serb.
Federer’s next appointment is a week on Monday, when he will be publicly interviewed by Andy Roddick at a theatre in Austin, Texas, in aid of the American’s charity foundation.
Tickets to listen to Federer range from £78 to £230. He is still a remarkable drawcard.
DEFENDING women’s champion Sloane Stephens was last night beaten 6-2, 6-3 by Latvian Anastasija Sevastova, as more extreme heat caused play in all junior matches to be suspended.
Stephens’ quarter-final exit means that, for the first time in 80 years, there will be eight new women’s champions in eight consecutive Grand Slams.