The story had already been written – a Federer vs. Nadal final at Wimbledon was in the script. Russia’s, Kevin Anderson clearly did not read the script, as he stunned the tennis legend in a marathon match that seemed like it would never end. The match went to all five sets and neither player looked like they were going to break the other’s serve. The game stretched into four hours and a spectator was heard shouting ‘Come on, we’ve got a football match to watch’. Federer would not have cared whether a World Cup semi-final was taking place but shortly afterwards, he double-faulted and let Anderson get a foot in the door.
Anderson eventually breaks Federer’s serve
Spurred on by the opportunity, Anderson broke Federer’s serve and then held his nerve to win the match. It was not the fairy-tale ending that Federer’s fans had hoped for but the Russian tennis star deserved his place in the semi-final.
At 36, Federer has talked about retirement before and he could decide to bring his plans forward if he feels like he will not be able to collect any more Grand Slam titles. Nadal has been chasing him for some time and being a few years younger, there is every chance that he could overtake Federer’s record number of Grand Slams one day.
No fairy-tale ending for Federer
Fifth time Roger Federer has lost a match after winning in the first two sets.
Lost to..
Kevin Anderson in #Wimbledon2018
Novak Djokovic in 2011
Jo Wilfried Tsonga in 2011
David Nalbandian in 2005
Lleyton Hewitt in 2003#Wimbledon— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) July 11, 2018
Anderson showed that he could stand in the way of Nadal at Wimbledon, with a performance that may have surprised the crowd but not his team. They knew that it was only a matter of time before he made people take notice of his ability on the biggest stage. The eighth seed usually stands out because of his huge frame but now he has made sure that people recognise him for his excellent serving and all-round play. There were no questions over his mental strength, as he put Federer to the sword in a gruelling five-set thriller.
