A year ago, an eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer suffered a heavy loss against Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-final. Playing at only his fifth tournament since February 2020, Roger earned four wins and became the oldest Wimbledon quarter-finalist in the Open era.
The Swiss hoped for more against the Pole in a battle for the semis. Hurkacz had other plans and beat the legend and his idol 6-3, 7-6, 6-0 in an hour and 48 minutes to sail into the last four. Despite having more winners than unforced errors, Federer was far from the young rival’s pace, struggling on serve and return and making too many errors that cost him dearly.
The Swiss lost the ground in the third set to experience the first bagel since the 2008 Roland Garros final against Rafael Nadal, having nothing more left in the tank after squandering his chances in the second!
Roger Federer spoke about his Wimbledon loss to Hubert Hurkacz.
Federer grabbed only one break and struggled to keep the pressure on the Pole in his games, getting broken five times from 15 opportunities offered to his opponent.
Hubert secured an early advantage in the opener with a break at 3-2 and closed it with a service winner in game nine after 28 minutes. Eager to improve his game, Federer grabbed an early break in set number two before Hurkacz broke back at 2-4 with a deep return to regain confidence.
Roger did not play well in the tie break, struggling with his footwork and losing it 7-4 when Hubert fired two winners in the last two points. In one of his worst sets in a career, Federer took only 15 points in the third set to experience a bagel and hit the exit door in the worst possible way.
It remains the last ATP match for the Swiss, as he underwent his third knee surgery a few weeks later. Roger hopes to play again later this year, feeling optimistic about his recovery and wishing to extend his career. “I thought I had a decent chance going into the match against Hubert.
I felt like if I could protect my serve, I would get opportunities off his second serve and set rallies as I would like. But I struggled early on in that first set. I felt like my rhythm was a bit off behind the initial shot.
I put myself in too many difficult situations and did not take my chances. I needed to do better in the opener. Also, I have to give Hubert credit for getting that one done. I had to find a way to win the second set, especially from 4-1 up.
I was 4-2 down in the tie break and served against the wind, knowing that would not end well. Things got complicated when he forged two sets to love advantage. He was a better player by far in the end, and he deserved the victory,” Roger Federer said.
Source: Tennis World USA