Wimbledon 2018: Roger Federer’s greatness escaped him

Roger Federer’s Wimbledon title defence came to a stunning end against Kevin Anderson.

Roger Federer wipes his forehead deep into his loss to South Africa’s Kevin Anderson. Picture: Getty Images.

Throughout Roger Federer’s long grand slam title drought, it was his ability to clinch critical points in big matches that disappeared.

His ability to resolve that issue so famously at last year’s Australian Open, both in the semi-final against Stan Wawrinka and decider with Rafael Nadal, proved the catalyst for his second coming.

But on a quarter-final day resplendent with stunning matches at Wimbledon, his title defence came to a stunning end against Kevin Anderson.

And it was the 36-year-old’s inability to deliver when it mattered that proved his downfall.

The South African Anderson played the match of his life to progress to a semi-final against John Isner when victorious 2-6 6-7 (5) 7-5 6-4 13-11.

He joins Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Novak Djokovic as the only men to overcome a two-set deficit against the 20-time major winner at grand slam level.

Lleyton Hewitt also managed the improbable feat in Davis Cup and David Nalbandian conjured the unlikely at the Masters Cup in 2005.

And the Swiss star, while gracious, was extremely disappointed to have seen a chance for further success go begging.

“I guess there was definitely a moment at some point. Is it missing match points? Is it getting broken at five-all after that? I’m not sure,” Federer said.

“That could have been a key. Could have been a key later. There’s a lot of little points here and there that always make a difference in the outcome of a match.”

Federer’s failure to clinch a match point in the third set, nor snare other-half chances when he was within reach of victory over the next two sets, could yet prove significant in a historical sense.

As it stands, Martina Navratilova remains the most successful champion at Wimbledon with nine singles titles. But the race for the most major titles between Federer, Nadal and, to a lesser extent, Novak Djokovic, is well and truly alive.

And it is more probable than not that one of his greatest rivals will bridge the gap by holding aloft the Wimbledon crown this Sunday, with due respect to Anderson and Isner.

Nadal, who edged Juan Martin del Potro 7-5 6-7 4-6 6-4 6-4 in a stunning quarter-final lasting almost five hours, will close to within two major titles of Federer if successful.

Djokovic has shown signs of rediscovering his ruthless best all fortnight and roared away from Kei Nishikori from midway through the third set to win 6-4 3-6 6-2 6-2.

His last grand slam title came in Paris in 2016, a victory that gave him both a career and non-calendar year grand slam.

Five years Federer’s junior, Djokovic would move within seven major titles of him.

It is a stretch, of course, but both the Swiss and the Spaniard have shown it is possible to shine in your thirties.

As remarkable as it seems given the nature of the men’s and women’s quarter-finals, the semi-final between Nadal and Djokovic shapes as a potential highlight given the manner in which both are playing.

The left-hander has won three of the past six major titles but his hopes will rest on how he recovers from the gruelling encounter against del Potro, the Tower of Tandil, in their 52nd outing. But he was grateful yesterday simply for avoiding the fate that befell Federer.

“You enjoy, because at the end of the day we are playing in one of the best courts in our sport, against a great opponent, with full crowd, fifth set, great level of tennis. Of course, you have to enjoy,” Nadal said.

He relishes a challenge and with the weather expected to warm up again by the weekend, the grass courts will be bouncing as much as he jumped around from side to side and even into the front row at one stage.

Djokovic, too, has his bounce back. He has overcome a serious elbow injury and will be buoyed by his form renewal and rediscovered mental strength. But it is a significant step up from facing Nishikori, as well as the Japanese player performed this Wimbledon.

“Am I a man on a mission? Of course. That is why I am here,” Djokovic said.

“I think my level of tennis is pretty close to when I won here. I deserve to be in the semi-finals. I don’t want to stop here.”

A career-defining weekend awaits the winner of the other semi-final between Anderson and John Isner, who defeated Milos Raonic 6-7 7-6 6-4 6-3 to reach the last four at a grand slam for the first time.

If the first semi-final pits tennis royalty against each other, this is a tale of two hardworking talents made good. In 2007, with Anderson representing the University of Illinois and Isner the University of Georgia, they went head-to-head in an NCAA final in front of drunk, barking college kids and fans.

To be in their 30s and playing off on the most famous court in the world for a spot in a Wimbledon final against an all-time great is quite the contrast.

“I really hope it’s an example of sticking to your dreams and keep believing in yourself,’’ Anderson said.

“I always say I was in the same position, it’s not easy coming from South Africa, it’s very far from the tennis scene.

“In terms of my overall Wimbledon, it’s definitely a win that means a lot to me today. It’s tough in the sense that I’ve got to get ready for my next match. I can’t dwell on it too long. Obviously a lot of emotions going on. You try to calm down as quickly as possible. I’ve already started my recovery process.”

Isner has arguably the best serve in men’s tennis and it is perhaps surprising he has not made it this deep before, though his game does have some limitations.

Anderson is cut from a similar cloth but it is a mistake to dismiss him as a serve-bot. As well as he served yesterday to maintain pressure on Federer, it was the quality of his ball striking and depth of return that carried the day.