World No. 2 Roger Federer crashed out of the U.S. Open 2018 championship, losing to unseeded Australian John Millman 3-6 7-5 7-6(7) 7-6(3) in the fourth round in a match at the Arthur Ashe Stadium that began Monday and concluded at nearly 1 a.m. on Tuesday.
Federer was threatened in the very first game of the match, when Millman fought his way to break point. But Federer eventually got the better of the world No. 55, sealing the first set 6-3.
Millman put up a better show in the second set and Federer, despite leading 5-4, 40-15, couldn’t put the Aussie away. Millman reeled off three consecutive games to win the second set 7-5 and square the match.
The tug-of-war continued between both players taking the next two sets to tiebreaks. Millman showed extreme control in both, winning three consecutive sets and the match.
For only the fourth time in his career, Federer committed double faults in the double digits - 10. It is also the first time in his career that he has lost to a man ranked outside the top 50 at the U.S. Open
“He’s definitely not at his best, but I’ll take it.” Millman said during his post-match interview.
This is Millman’s first top-ten victory and the first time in the second week of a Grand Slam. Prior to this tournament, he achieved a career-high ranking of No. 49 in July this year. He is also the first Australian to defeat Federer in a grand slam match since Pat Rafter in 1999.
Poor serve
Roger Federer served poorly. Closed poorly, too. And now he’s gone, beaten at the U.S. Open by an opponent ranked outside the top 50 for the first time in his career.
It’s only the second time in Federer’s past 14 appearances at the U.S. 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.
So much for that much-anticipated matchup 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.
(With inputs from agencies)
