Roger Federer's historic run at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships ended with a loss for the record books he won't reflect kindly on when he calls time on his iconic career.
Federer's bid for a ninth Wimbledon title came to a crashing halt Wednesday when he fell to Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-7 (4-7), 0-6 in the quarterfinal round. According to the ATP Tour, it's the first time Federer ever lost a set 6-0 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
And they say to never meet your heroes…@HubertHurkacz knocks out his idol, eight-time champion Roger Federer, in straight sets to advance to his first Grand Slam semi-final#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Qri1uriPDF
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2021
The living legend, who shares the men's record of 20 career Grand Slams with Rafael Nadal, turns 40 years old next month and looked to be battling Father Time as he was dominated by Hurkacz in the match's final set. Some fans watching in-person clamored for Federer to return for next year's tournament.
Roger Federer crashes out of #Wimbledon with one of his poorest performances here, falling 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-0 to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 7, 2021
Federer turns 40 next month.
As he exited, some fans chanted “One more year! One more year!” pic.twitter.com/eIerHMee5y
An ovation for 22 years of memories
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2021
It's been a pleasure as always, @rogerfederer #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/GvsOenp68C
Injury was added to the insult of Federer's crushing defeat earlier in the day when, per ESPN, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic smashed Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to book a semifinal clash with Denis Shapovalov. Djokovic will enter that contest on 19 career Slams, one behind Federer and Nadal.
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