Federer Suffers Shock Defeat at Wimbledon; Djokovic on Track for Record 20th Grand Slam

(Photo : Julian Finney/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 07: Roger Federer of Switzerland walks off court after losing his men's Singles Quarter Final match against Hubert Hurkacz of Poland on Day Nine of The Championships - Wimbledon 2021 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 07, 2021 in London, England.

Roger Federer's bid for a record ninth Wimbledon title ended in anguish on Wednesday as he suffered a shocking straight-set loss to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals.

The Swiss maestro lost 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-0 to the 14th seeded Pole in a match that lasted just one hour and 49 minutes. It was the first time that Federer has lost a set to love at the All England Club in his long and illustrious career. The last time he suffered such a fate at a Grand Slam tournament was in 2008 at the French Open final when he lost to Spanish rival, Rafael Nadal.

Is this the end for the great Roger Federer?

Tennis fans are wondering whether this could be Federer's final appearance at the grass-court Grand Slam. He showed his age in the quarterfinals as the 20-time Grand Slam champion was outclassed in the loss to Hurkacz, suffering his first straight-set loss at Wimbledon in 19 years.

Time is ticking on the great career of Federer, who had two knee surgeries last year and was appearing in his fifth event in the past 17 months at Wimbledon. Federer was uncertain of his return at the All-England Club, telling reporters in a post-match interview, "Honestly I don't know if this was my last Wimbledon, now I need to rearrange my ideas and in the coming days to speak with my team. In recent years my goal has always been to participate in Wimbledon and I am really happy to be able to play there this time. I'd like to do it again, but at my age you never know."

It was a magnificent result, though, for Hurkacz, who reached his first Grand Slam semifinal. His run here has been remarkable given that he had only ever won four tour-level matches on grass before this year's Wimbledon tournament. Hurkacz will next face Matteo Berretini in the semis after the Italian ended Felix Auger-Aliassime's magical run in the event, winning 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.

Joining Hurkacz in the semifinals is Novak Djokovic. He remained on course for a record-tying 20th Grand Slam title after beating Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, on Centre Court. The world no. 1 needed two hours and 17 minutes to record the straight-sets win and pull off the 100th grass-court victory of his career.

Djokovic reaches yet another Grand Slam semifinal

Djokovic has now won 32 of his 35 matches this season as he continues his quest to complete the Golden Slam. Djokovic secured the first two major trophies of the year at Melbourne and Paris and will be looking to become just the fifth man in the sport's history to win the first three Grand Slam tournaments, joining Jack Crawford (1933), Don Budge (1938), Lew Hoad (1956) and Rod Laver (1962 and 1969) in that esteemed list.

However, he will have his work cut out for him in the semifinals as he will face the in-form Denis Shapovalov. The 10th-seeded Canadian reached his maiden Grand Slam semifinal with a thrilling 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-1 6-4 victory over Russian Karen Khachanov. Shapovalov blasted 59 winners to pull off the win in three hours and 28 minutes.