At 38, Roger Federer was still among the players to beat in 2019 and early 2020. The Swiss master reached the Australian Open semi-final in January last year before sustaining a serious knee injury that required two surgeries. .
Federer began practicing again in the final stages of 2020, pushing hard to recover in time for the Australian Open. As we all know, the Swiss could not return to his best level in February, choosing Doha in March as the point of return.
With the grass season on his mind, Roger played three tournaments heading into Halle, hoping to chase the 11th title at one of his favorite events. Instead, Federer lost in the second round to Felix Auger-Aliassime, experiencing Halle’s first outing and traveling to London with question marks over his head.
Roger, who played in his fifth tournament since February last year, scored four wins to become the oldest Wimbledon quarter-finalist in the Open Era, marking the showdown against Hubert Hurkacz.
Roger Federer felt he could beat Hubert Hurkacz at Wimbledon.
Hoping for another hot streak and an experience triumph over the youth, Federer experienced a tough 6-3, 7-6, 6-0 defeat in one hour and 48 minutes.
The Swiss lost ground in the third set to experience the first zero since the 2008 Roland Garros final against Rafael Nadal, he had nothing else left in the tank after wasting his chances in the second!
Playing in his first Major quarterfinal, Hubert took a break at 3-2 and closed the opener with an unreturned serve in game nine in less than half an hour. Federer raised his level in the second set to build a 4-1 lead before Hurkacz regained the break in the seventh game.
Roger did not play well in the tie break, he struggled with his footwork and lost when Hubert shot two winners at 5-4. In one of his worst sets at Wimbledon and in a career overall, Federer took just 15 points in the third set to experience a zero and hit the starting gate in the worst possible way, unable to keep up with the opponent and leaving the court disappointed.
“I thought I had a decent chance going into the Hubert game. I felt like if I could protect my serve, I’d get second-serve chances and set up rallies however I wanted.
But I struggled early in that first set. I felt like my rhythm was a little out of place behind the serve. I put myself in too many difficult situations and didn’t take any chances. I feel like I needed to do better in the first game.
Also, I have to give Hubert credit for doing it. 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 it wouldn’t end well.
Things got complicated when he forged two sets of advantage. In the end, he was the best player and he deserved the victory, “said Roger Federer.
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