Wednesday 07 July 2021
Update
Djokovic squinted for 20th title
Federer crashes at Wimbledon
Was that now for Roger Federer and the legendary tennis tournament at Wimbledon? The Swiss will be eliminated in the quarter-finals. His defeat against the Pole Hubert Hurkacz is clear. For the almost 40-year-old, it could be a goodbye forever. Novak Djokovic does it better.
On perhaps his last walk from Center Court at Wimbledon, “Maestro” Roger Federer repeatedly ran through his sweaty hair, waved to the audience again with a sad look and crept into the catacombs with his head bowed. Almost exactly one month before his 40th birthday, the tennis superstar’s dream of winning the ninth Wimbledon title suddenly fell through – the Swiss missed any ease in the quarter-finals that had led him to immense success. In the end he was even outclassed by the Pole Hubert Hurkacz at 3: 6, 6: 7 (4: 7), 0: 6.
While top favorite Novak Djokovic is right on track and only two wins away from the historic 20th Grand Slam title, the question inevitably arises for Federer whether he will return to his “living room” again. It was not until March that the major record winner made his comeback after a year-long injury break with two knee operations and declared the lawn classic in London as a major goal. “He has achieved such special things here,” said Hurkacz after defeating his idol: “For me, a dream will come true.”
Miles away from top form
After an extremely bumpy start at Wimbledon, Federer got better and better and celebrated convincing victories. “It’s nice to see that all the work I’ve put in pays off and that I’m still able to play tennis at this level,” said Federer after moving into his 18th quarter-finals on Church Road. But this time he was miles away from his top form.
Twenty years ago, Federer defeated his great idol Pete Sampras in the Wimbledon round of 16 and attracted worldwide attention for the first time. This time it was Hurkacz who showed no nervousness towards his childhood hero.
While the Pole, who had only won one match (six defeats) between his surprising Masters title in Miami in early April and Wimbledon, played carefree and creatively, Federer could hardly find any means against the strong serve on the return. The longtime world number one did not look confident or even dominant – he often hit balls uncleanly or did badly. The tie-break of the second set was symptomatic, in which Federer left many simple points due to uncleanliness.
Djokovic celebrates 100th victory on grass
It looked completely different shortly before on the Center Court at Djokovic. The world number one from Serbia did not even have to show his best tennis to make it into his tenth semi-final in London. He has his sights set firmly on the third Wimbledon title in a row after his 100th win on grass.
“Sometimes things look surreal, but nothing can be taken for granted to me,” said the Tour dominator after the 6: 3, 6: 4, 6: 4 against the often too scared Hungarian Marton Fucsovics: “It’s a huge inspiration for me to make history. ” In his 41st major semi-final, Djokovic, who had already triumphed in Melbourne and Paris this year, will face Denis Shapovalov (Canada).
With his sixth Wimbledon triumph, Djokovic would also achieve a great career goal. It would be his 20th overall title in a Grand Slam tournament, so he would draw level with the joint leaders Roger Federer (Switzerland) and Rafael Nadal (Spain). Even the Golden Slam – winning all four major tournaments in one year as well as the gold medal in the Olympic singles – is still possible.
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