US Open 2018: 3 things we learned from Roger Federer’s defeat to John Millman

Day 8 of the US Open 2018 witnessed a seismic shock as Roger Federer succumbed to a four-set defeat to World No. 55 John Millman in an unexpected turn of events in the fourth round. The Australian was hardly ever considered a roadblock or even a mild threat to Federer’s smooth progress into the quarter-finals, where Novak Djokovic was waiting.

But the unthinkable happened as the World No. 2 Federer kept fluffing all his chances to go down 6-3, 5-7, 6-7(7), 6-7(3) after 3 hours 34 minutes of play, that left the sports world stunned.

As tennis aficionados try to grapple with the result, here are three things that we learned from this match:

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#1 Age seems to be catching up with Federer

When Federer started the 2018 season in majestic fashion by defending his Australian Open title, it seemed we were in for another year of revelling in the Federer magic. Sure enough, the maestro took his form to Rotterdam and won there as well.

But since then, things have gone downhill for the former World No. 1. If fans hoped to see him add to his staggering collection of 20 Slam titles, they were left bitterly disappointed. When the Swiss returned from his hiatus after having skipped the clay season, he did capture the ATP 250 title at Stuttgart on the slick green surface.

However, it was a very different version of Federer the very next week at the Gerry Weber Open. Roger huffed and puffed his way to the final against Borna Coric. When a record tenth title beckoned him at the pristine hamlet of Halle Westfalen, Federer could not conjure his magic anymore.

He looked weary, slow on the feet and his racquet hardly ever stopped peppering the court with unforced errors. The result was a three-set capitulation to the young Coric.

Federer hasn’t been able to get back his mojo since then. He has been raising hopes with his impeccable form in the early rounds of a tournament only to crash and burn later on. The trend continued at Wimbledon, Cincinnati and now at the US Open as well.

For large phases of the fourth round match on Monday, the legend looked fatigued and dispirited and even lacking in motivation. He did admit later on that he found it difficult to cope with the sweltering and suffocating conditions. However, it doesn’t rule out the inevitable question swirling in everybody’s minds -- Is age finally catching up with Federer?

His casual approach and an indifferent body language have been recurrent for the past few tournaments and he has lost to players he was not expected to succumb to. Is he finally feeling the effects of being 37?

#2 Federer can still never be counted out

The Australian Open win was just around seven months ago!

Federer’s continued lapses quite obviously take us back to his annus horribilis. In 2013, he slumped to 17 losses against just 45 wins. A back issue flared up, making his life difficult on the Tour. While many obituaries were written for the Swiss then, he made a mockery of them all when he made it to the Wimbledon final the very next year and took Novak Djokovic to five sets.

Federer silenced all his detractors when he made a grand comeback from surgery in 2017 to add three more Major titles to his already swelling trophy cabinet.

The fact that five years have progressed since 2013 cannot be denied. 37 is traditionally not the age for playing immaculate tennis at the highest level with a bubbly new generation coming up.

But then, players like Federer and Serena Williams have aged like fine wine. They have excelled when people have expected them to pack up and hang up their racquets.

Federer’s recurring losses might be a worrying sign for his fans, but as long as the maestro himself has the passion burning within him, it cannot be that bad. At 37, he is still incredibly ranked No. 2 in the world and is the holder of a Slam title.

Federer has always been an expert at finding out solutions to problems that have been plaguing him, as evidenced by his choice of a larger racquet and his tweaking of his backhand. If his biggest rivals somehow slip and he can keep his act together for a fortnight, then Federer might just once again etch his name on yet another Major trophy.

After all, the 2018 Australian Open was only around seven months ago!

#3 Australian tennis is much more than just Nick Kyrgios

John Millman had a day to remember

The Roger Federer vs Nick Kyrgios third round showdown hogged the headlines as the world sniffed of a possible upset. That match turned out to be a whimper after all the hype and even had Federer producing the ‘shot of the tournament’ as the 20-time Major winner made short work of his 23-year-old rival.

It was instead John Millman, a 29-year-old Australian journeyman, who stole the show. Currently placed at 55th, he has never been ranked anything higher than 49th. He also doesn’t even have an ATP title on his resume.

But it was the underdog, who produced a stunning display of resilience against someone, who has been hailed by many as the greatest player to have ever touched a racquet. Millman was about to go two sets to love down with the Swiss holding a couple of set points in the second set, from where he stormed back into the match to ensure that he became the first man outside the top 50 to beat Federer at the Flushing Meadows.

Millman is the No. 4 Australian in the men’s singles world rankings after Kyrgios, Alex de Minaur and Matthew Ebden. But, on the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night, he fought toe-to-to-toe with his much-fancied rival and eked out a win, despite having gone down a break in the fourth set -- a reward for his patience, persistence and self-belief.