Five-time champion Roger Federer was handed a shock exit by Australia’s John Millman, who defeated the Swiss man 3-6 7-5 7-6(7) 7-6(3) in the round of 16 clash in the US Open on Monday. Federer dominated the proceedings in the first set against the 55th ranked Millman but the game changed completely as he claimed the second set. Millman kept his calm and continued battling his decorated opponent through to two tie-breaks, at the end of which, he walked out victorious, much to the shock of the crowd present at the Arthur Ashe stadium.
After the match, Millman said that he almost couldn’t do anything in the first set where he crashed to a defeat but relied on his ability to fight back.
“Felt like a deer in the headlights to begin with, to be honest,” said Millman as quoted by The Indian Express.
I’ve got to control the controllable and the one thing I can control is the fight in me. I’ve always brought the fight up,” he added further. A total of 77 unforced errors to go with 10 double faults didn’t help the second-seeded Federer’s case, who didn’t drop a single set in his first three matches.
However, for Millman, this would be a ‘moment of disbelief’ as he said that the Swiss stalwart has always been his hero.
“He’s a hero of mine. Today he was not at his best but I’ll take it,” added Millman.
However, Millman’s next challenge lies in the form of Serbian Novak Djokovic, who claimed a hard-fought 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Portugal’s Joao Sousa in a fourth-round match on Monday.
Japanese 21st seed Kei Nishikori entered the next stage by defeating Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 6-2 7-5 on Monday. Croatian Marin Cilic also overcame a challenge from David Goffin 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-4 to make it to the US Open quarter-finals.