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Diahuebs 8 Juli 2021

8-time Wimbledon champ Federer loses quarterfinal to Hurkacz

(AP) — Roger Federer has he needed to wait while fans who in the lead-up to the to ask that he make his way to scoreboard first thing on Fri-
been feted by plenty of in the full-to-capacity stands match called Federer his idol. the closing weekend, even if day ... it’s going to be 0-0. So
ovations at Centre Court. applauded and cheered. Soon this is a tournament he’s won that’s it. Nothing else mat-
None quite like this one, enough, it was over, only the Asked if he could have imag- more than any other man, ters.”
though. This was not a cel- third 6-0 set lost by Federer ined this result, Hurkacz re- and even if it’s contested on a
ebration. It felt more like in 429 career Grand Slam plied: “Probably not.” surface, grass, on which he’s Hurkacz’s opponent Friday
a “Thank you” or — just in matches; both of the others best. will be No. 7 Matteo Berret-
case — a “Goodbye.” came at the French Open And yet, this was not the Fe- tini of Italy or No. 16 Felix
— in his 1999 Slam debut derer the world is used to He simply never was able Auger-Aliassime of Canada.
The eight-time Wimbledon against Pat Rafter and in watching. He underwent two to summon the serving and
champion lost 6-3, 7-6 (4), the 2008 final against Rafael operations on his right knee shot-making that have car- Hurkacz never had made it
6-0 to 14th-seeded Hubert Nadal. in 2020 and was sidelined ried him to 20 Grand Slam beyond the third round at any
Hurkacz of Poland in the for more than 12 months in titles overall, tied with Nadal major; that’s when he lost to
quarterfinals at the All Eng- “I don’t know what to say. all. He arrived at Wimbledon for the men’s record. Djokovic at Wimbledon two
land Club on Wednesday, a It’s super special for me. I having played a total of eight years ago.
surprisingly lopsided finish mean, playing on this special matches this season. On the other half of the draw,
to Federer’s 22nd appearance court against Roger — it’s No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic Still, Hurkacz looked quite
in the tournament. always, when you’re a kid, Factor in age — Federer turns will meet No. 10 Denis comfortable on this unfamil-
it’s like a dream come true 40 on Aug. 8, so this was his Shapovalov in the semifinals. iar stage. He played sublime-
As Federer stepped the base- to play him.,” said Hurkacz, last major in his 30s — and ly, with three times as many
line to serve in the last game, a 24-year-old from Poland maybe it was just too much For about 20 minutes winners, 36, as unforced er-
Wednesday, Djokovic was not rors, 12.
quite his indomitable, infal-
lible self. In the opening set, he didn’t
face so much as a single break
After racing to a 5-0 lead at point and was guilty of just
the outset, he dropped three four unforced errors to Fe-
consecutive games to his derer’s 10.
unheralded quarterfinal op-
ponent, 48th-ranked Marton It appeared Federer finally
Fucsovics. Wasted five set was beginning to make some
points in the process, too. headway early in the second
set, earning a trio of break
Soon enough, Djokovic points and nosing ahead 2-0
righted himself, as he usually on a double-fault. After his
does, and beat Fucsovics 6-3, second serve found the net,
6-4, 6-4 on a windy, overcast Hurkacz pointed an index
afternoon at Centre Court to finger at his temple, then
reach his 10th semifinal at the shook his head.
All England Club and 41st at
a major tournament. Federer then weathered three
break points in the next game
That allowed the 34-year-old to lead 3-0.
from Serbia to continue his
pursuit of a sixth champion- But Hurkacz conceded noth-
ship at Wimbledon — and ing. Undaunted by the set-
what would be a third in a ting, the stakes, the foe or the
row — along with a 20th almost-uniformly-for-Fe-
Grand Slam title overall. derer fans, Hurkacz claimed
four of the next fives game
And there’s this, too: to pull even at 4-all, breaking
Djokovic improved to 19-0 along the way with a stinging
in matches at majors this sea- forehand return of a 101 mph
son as he pursues the first cal- serve that rushed Federer and
endar-year Grand Slam by a drew a backhand into the net.
man since Rod Laver in 1969.
Djokovic seized trophies on In the tiebreaker — which
the Australian Open’s hard was preceded by loud chants
courts in February, on the of “Let’s go, Roger! Let’s go!”
French Open’s red clay in and rhythmic clapping — it
June and now seeks to add was more of the same: Hur-
one on Wimbledon’s grass. kacz hitting his spots and Fe-
derer stumbling.
“I’m not chasing anybody,”
Djokovic said. “I’m making On one foray to the net, Fe-
my own path and my own derer lost his footing and, in
journey, my own history.” the process of catching his
balance, missed what could
Shapovalov edged No. 25 have been a simple volley.
Karen Khachanov of Russia
6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 over The third set went by in a
nearly 3 1/2 hours at No. 1 blink, and when it ended
Court. with Federer missing a fore-
hand well wide, he quickly
“Obviously, he’s the best play- packed his bags and hustled
er in the world,” Shapovalov off toward the locker room
said about Djokovic, “but I with a wave and a thumbs-
think anything is possible. up.
And when you look at the