By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, July 7, 2021
Hubert Hurkacz hammered Roger Federer 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-0 handing his hero his first straight-sets Wimbledon loss in 19 years to roar into his first major semifinal.
Photo credit: Getty
Iconic idols inspire and intimidate.
Competing with conviction on Centre Court, Hubert Hurkacz hammered his hero Roger Federer right out of Wimbledon today.
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A fearless Hurkacz swept a flat Federer 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-0 storming to a dream victory that vaults him into his first Grand Slam semifinal.
The 18th-ranked Hurkacz is the second Polish man to reach a Grand Slam semifinal following Jerzy Janowicz, who advanced to the Wimbledon final four in 2013. Contesting just his third Wimbledon, Hurkacz joins Agnieszka Radwanska, Iga Swiatek and Janowicz as the fourth Polish player—male or female—to make a major final four.
Hurkacz will play either seventh-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini or 16th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime for a spot in Sunday's final.
"It's super special for me," Hurkacz said. "Playing on this special court against Roger, when you're a kid it's always a dream come true. Playing here in front of you guys the special things he has done here throughout his whole career, it's a dream come true.
"I'm super proud and super happy to be here...I can't wait for the next one."
A happy day for Hurkacz is a haunting farewell for Federer. It's the worst Wimbledon defeat of Federer's career. The former world No. 1 was bageled for the first time at SW19 suffering his first Wimbledon straight-sets loss since he bowed to Mario Ancic in the 2002 first round.
"It was tough, you know. The last few games obviously as you can feel that you're not coming back from it," Federer said. "I'm not used to that kind of situation obviously very much, especially not here...
"Hubert played great. It was a tough end, of course."
The capacity Centre Court crowd stood and saluted the eight-time Grand Slam champion with a rousing extended ovation as Federer waved in an emotional exit after enduring just his third straight-sets loss in 119 career Wimbledon matches.
Asked if this his final farewell to Wimbledon, Federer said he's unsure.
"I don't know. I really don't know," Federer said. "I got to regroup. My goal was always for the last year and more to always try to play another Wimbledon. The initial goal, like you know, was to play last year. That was anyway never going to happen. Plus the pandemic hit. I was able to make it this year, which I'm really happy about...
"Obviously we're going to speak a little bit tonight, depending on how I feel, then the next couple of days as well. Then we go from there. Just see, Okay, what do I need to do to get in better shape so I can be more competitive."
Facing an opponent 15 years younger, the 39-year-old Swiss coming off a pair of right knee surgeries looked his age in running rallies. Federer lacked his customary explosiveness, was a half-step slow coming out of the corners, struggled to defend his second serve, winning just 11 points on that delivery and more than doubled Hurkacz's unforced error output—31 to 12—and never recovered from a horrific tie breaker.
The sixth-seeded Swiss squandered a one break lead in the second set and slipped up with some surprisingly sloppy net play in the tie breaker and Hurkacz exploited the lapse sprinting.
Talk about a turnaround, Hurkacz has transformed the SW19 lawn into revitalizing turf. The Miami Open champion arrived in London mired in a six-match losing streak, a free-fall so severe oddsmakers listed him as a 150 to 1 shot to win Wimbledon.
Yet, in his 13th Grand Slam Hurkacz has calmly dissected all comers, scoring straight-sets wins over Lorenzo Musetti, Marcos Giron and Alexander Bublik before rallying to his second career five-set win over second-ranked Daniil Medvedev. The completion of that comeback gave Hurkacz experience playing on Centre Court. Hurkacz never looked fazed facing Federer or the moment and didn't need to come out of his comfort zone to score his biggest win.
Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Federer won the toss and elected to receive, trying to apply early pressure. The Swiss slapped a double fault falling into a triple break point hole in the fourth game. Federer fired a flurry of forehands to erase the stress and level the set.
Playing with the breeze at his back, Federer brain-cramped believing a Hurkacz pass would sail out he turned to watch the wind drop the ball inside the baseline. Paris Masters doubles champion Hurkacz knifed an angled backhand volley breaking for 4-2.
The 24-year-old Pole punched a forehand down the line for two set points. Hurkacz took the first set from his tennis hero when Federer flattened a forehand return to net ending a 31-minute opener.
Fans sporting "RF" caps erupted in roars as Federer earned triple break point at the start of the second set. Hurkacz erased the first two but hit his second double fault gifting Federer his first break.
The sixth-seeded Swiss staved off three break points, including a superb full stretch volley off a serve-and-volley, holding strong for a 3-0 second-set lead and looking intent on leveling his 18th Wimbledon quarterfinal.
Trying to shorten points, Federer hit himself into trouble, slapping shots into the net to fall into a triple break point hole in the seventh game. Hurkacz hammered a return down the line rattling out the break to get back on serve and sending a hush through the pro-Federer Centre Court crowd.
Deadlocked at 2-2 in the tiebreaker, Federer's front-court slips cost him the breaker and ultimately the match.
Opening the court with the slider serve, the Swiss slapped an open-court forehand swing volley into net. On the next point, Federer flowed forward for a routine smash when his right foot slid off the center stripe, he slipped awkwardly inside the service box and badly bungled the shot handing Hurkacz a 4-2 lead with untimely errors.
A diagonal forehand winner brought the Miami Open champion two set points. The 6'5" Hurkacz threw down a 136 mph serve bolt down the middle a lunging Federer could not control snatching a two-set lead after 80 minutes.
The two-set lead empowered Hurkacz and haunted Federer who couldn't ignite his energy level or summon the sharp shotmaking required to make his opponent work. Crashing a forehand into net, a stoic Federer dropped serve in the second game of the third set swiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his white sweatband.
Hurkacz closed the curtain on Federer's bid to reach a 14th Wimbledon semifinal smoothly and ruthlessly handing his hero the first shutout set he's suffered at SW19. Federer departed quickly with a wave to fans with some imploring him to return again next summer when he'll be 40 years old.
Following a good-bye wave, Federer said he hopes it's not his final farewell to Wimbledon though he says he hasn't made any decision on his competitive future.
Asked if this was his final Wimbledon, Federer replied: "I don't know. I really don't know."
"I got to regroup. My goal was always for the last year and more to always try to play another Wimbledon," Federer said. "Obviously we're going to speak a little bit tonight, depending on how I feel, then the next couple of days as well. Then we go from there. Just see, Okay, what do I need to do to get in better shape so I can be more competitive.
"I'm actually very happy I made it as far as I did here and I actually was able to play Wimbledon at the level that I did after everything I went through. Of course I would like to play it again, but at my age you're just never sure what's around the corner."