Roger Federer crashed out of the US Open in the fourth round after losing in four sets to Australian John Millman.
It was the first time Federer has ever lost to a player outside the top 50 in New York and it was even worse considering he was a set and a break up.
Here, Press Association Sport assesses Federer’s form and what it means for his future.
Are his performances really tailing off?
What a night…#USOpen pic.twitter.com/eTwHSN9yAO
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 4, 2018
There is no doubt that this was a shocking result for the Swiss maestro, especially considering the position he put himself in, having two set points to lead by two sets to love. But there is no suggestion that this should be viewed as anything other than a freak result. The sweltering conditions played a key part in New York and Millman was able to adapt better. Federer’s overall recent record has not been too bad as he reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon before getting to the final in the last US Open warm-up tournament in Cincinnati. He has a 33-5 record for the year, with three titles, including the Australian Open so he is still one of the best – a grand slam and a stint at world number one tells you as much.
It would be unwise to view this result in anything but isolation, after all he has not won at Flushing Meadows since 2008, so it is hardly a stronghold for him. Federer’s problem is that he was so brilliant in 2017 that his record this year, although still impressive, is modest in comparison. With Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic now back to their best, Federer is not finding it as easy to win the big tournaments.
Haven’t we written him off before?
How long has he got left?
