Roger Federer bows out to Sergiy Stakhovsky in second round – Wimbledon Championships 2013
Former world number one, Roger Federer, suffered a shocking second-round defeat against the Ukrainian contender, Sergiy Stakhovsky, at the Wimbledon Championships 2013 on Wednesday. The Swiss recorded a 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 5-7, 6-7(5)
defeat at the hands of the world number 116 at this Major grass court event held in London, United Kingdom.
The Swiss Maestro displayed dismal performance at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. As a result, he recorded his earliest Grand Slam exit in 10 years and ended his run of reaching 36 consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals.
The beaming underdog praised Federer and reflected in a post match presser, "I was playing my best tennis I ever played and it almost wasn't enough to beat Roger. I'm incredibly happy. When you play Federer at Wimbledon, it's like
you're playing two people: Federer and his ego on Centre Court at Wimbledon, where he's historical. I was hoping I would have a chance to be in the match at the beginning. I was just hanging in there on my serve, trying to get to tie-break. It was magic. I
couldn't play any better today. I played everything I needed and wanted to do. I volleyed incredibly well today. It was a fantastic day for me."
Seeded third in this event, Federer made a convincing start in this match. He spilled more unforced errors but smashed 20 winners to keep his entire serves. The Swiss failed to seek a break opportunity but dominated in the tie-breaker,
eventually sealing the set with a 7-6(7) win.
The Ukrainian found the winning track in the following set. He smoothly bagged his entire serves and ruled throughout the set. Stakhovsky smashed 17 winners and clobbered a better first serve ratio but failed to get a breakthrough.
The set went to another tie-breaker but the Ukrainian held his composure and equalised the set scores with a 7-6(5) score line.
The defending champion, Federer, failed to find his rhythm in the third set. He failed to capitalise on both break chances. In addition to this, the Swiss dusted away two out of three breakpoints he came across and subsequently
suffered a 5-7 defeat.
Federer managed to draw his first blood in the fourth set. He converted one out of four break chances to his advantage. However, the Swiss failed to save the only breakpoint he faced and took the set to a tie-breaker. Federer was
underplayed in it and endured a 6-7(5) loss.
The Ukrainian will next take on the Austrian star, Jurgen Melzer.
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