MEN’S QUARTERS LINEUP
Fourthround loss to John Millman is the second time No 2 seed exits before quarters in 14 appearances here
Roger Federer served poorly. He volleyed poorly. Closed out sets poorly, too. Now he’s gone, beaten at the US Open by an opponent ranked outside the top 50 for the first time in his illustrious career.
Looking slow and tired on a sweltering night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the No 2-seeded Federer double-faulted 10 times, failed to convert a trio of set points and lost 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3) in the fourth round to John Millman in a match that began Monday and concluded at nearly 1 am on Tuesday.
To Federer, it was all about the heat and the humidity. With the temperature in the 80s, even with the sun down, and the humidity at about 75 per cent, he was unable to summon his usual verve.
“Was just one of those nights where, I guess, I felt I couldn’t get air. There was no circulation at all. I don’t know, for some reason I just struggled in the conditions tonight. It’s one of the first times it’s happened to me,” the 37-yearold Federer said. “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.”
It’s only the second time in Federer’s past 14 appearances at the US Open that he’s lost before the quarterfinals. He is, after all, a five-time champion at the tournament, part of his men’s record haul of 20 Grand Slam titles.
“In all honesty, Roger’s a hero of mine. I look up to him,” said Millman, an Australian who is 29. “I felt a little bit guilty, because he didn’t have his best day, and that’s for sure. I know that. I’m very aware he didn’t have a great day in the office. Probably, to beat him, I needed him to have an off-day and I needed to have a decent, good day.”
So much for that highly-anticipated match up between Federer and 13-time Major champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. Instead, it’ll be the 55th-ranked Millman, who had never made it past the third round at a Slam until last week, taking on No 6 seed Djokovic.
Hours before, Djokovic left Rafael Nadal (1) vs Dominic Thiem (9)
Juan Martin del Potro (3) vs John Isner (11)
Marin Cilic (7) vs Kei Nishikori (21)
Novak Djokovic (6) vs John Millman
the court for a medical timeout — the second time during the tournament he’s sought help from a doctor because of harsh weather — during what would become an otherwise straightforward 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over 68th-ranked Joao Sousa of Portugal.
“I’m not 21 anymore. That was 10 years ago. I still don’t feel old. But at the same time, there is a little biological clock that is not really working in your favor,” Djokovic said. “Sometimes, you just have to survive.”
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FEDERER’S WORST DEFEATS
Maria Sharapova was knocked out of the US Open in the fourth round on Monday, losing 6-4, 6-3 to Spanish birthday girl Carla Suarez Navarro, who inflicted the Russian’s first ever night-time loss at the tournament.
Sharapova, the 2006 champion who was trying to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2012, hit 38 unforced errors and dropped serve six times.
The defeat ended the former world No 1’s perfect record of 23 wins — 22 of them on Arthur Ashe Stadium — in night sessions at Flushing Meadows.
Suarez Navarro, who celebrated her 30th birthday on Monday, was a quarter-finalist in New York in 2013.
“Maria has played here at night many times so I knew I needed to be aggressive, focussed and play solid,” said the 30th seeded Spaniard after clinching a second win in six meetings with Sharapova.
She will face 2017 runner-up Madison Keys for a place in the semis. “Madison is from the United States so I guess all the crowd will be for her. I have played her a few times. She has a great serve and plenty of experience on this court.”
Sharapova, who won the last of her five Slams at
Roland Garros in
2014, has endured a disappointing return to Majors since the end of her drugs ban in
April 2017. She made the fourth
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