Roger Federer crashed out of the US Open. (Source: USA TODAY Sports)Roger Federer crashed out of the US Open after going down 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6 and 2-6 against Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The thrilling match, which saw a see-saw battle between both the players, went into five sets.
Semifinal feels ?@GrigorDimitrov | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/rIYfHGF98j
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 4, 2019
Federer started the match on a strong note winning the first set 6-3 as his opponent took his time to get into the groove. However, Dimitrov bounced back from two sets to one down to stun the 20-times Grand Slam winner, as he cruised his way to the semi-finals in Flushing Meadows. This was also his first victory against the Swiss.
Respect after a thriller under the lights 👊@GrigorDimitrov | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/jXhdVmCkob
— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) September 4, 2019
His current rank is World No. 78, but it didn’t matter under the lights inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. He capitalised on all the errors made by the Swiss while maintaining his ground on the baseline and compiling his game with a range of shots to keep the five-time champion from settling in the contest.
The turning point in the match came in the fourth set, Dimitrov fighting off five break points to win the set and level match at 2-2. Before the start of the final set, the Swiss also took a medical timeout to deal with an apparent back problem. As the game resumed after the brief delay, the Bulgarian was on top of his game, breaking Federer to open the fifth and then a second time with the Swiss unable to mount any defence as the Bulgarian went on to claim the biggest win of his career.
Roger Federer’s losses in Grand Slam events to lowest-ranked players
Rank
154 – Mario Ancic (CRO) in #Wimbledon 2002 (R1)
116 – Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) in #Wimbledon 2013 (R2)
88 – Luis Horna (PER) in #FrenchOpen 2003 (R1)
78 – Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) in #USOpen2019 (QF) #USOpen— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) September 4, 2019
After a thrilling quarter-final, which lasted for three hours and 12 minutes, the Bulgarian became the lowest-ranked Grand Slam semi-finalist since Rainer Schuettler did so as World No. 94 at Wimbledon eleven years ago.
Dmitrov will now lock horns with Daniil Medvedev in the last four of the US Open. The 28-years-old has previously clinched the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals.
