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Roger Federer suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals at the US Open.<\/p>\nRoger Federer suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals at the US Open.<\/p>\n
The 20-time grand slam winner had looked destined for a box-office final against Rafael Nadal in what would have been the great rivals\u2019 first meeting at Flushing Meadows.<\/p>\n
But Bulgarian Dimitrov tore up that script with a first ever win over the Swiss, who needed a medical time-out and looked out of sorts throughout a five-set defeat.<\/p>\n
Punters on Arthur Ashe for the night session might have feared being short-changed after Serena Williams ran through Wang Qiang in 44 minutes.<\/p>\n
After all, Dimitrov had not beaten Federer in any of their previous seven matches, and had taken only two sets off him.<\/p>\n
The majority of those defeats came when the Bulgarian was a constant in the top 10, peaking as high as world number three. And coming into New York he had slumped to a lowly 78.<\/p>\n
But all was clearly not well with Federer, who hit an unprecedented 60 unforced errors.<\/p>\n
He had been flexing his racket arm during the fourth set, and in a rare occurrence the 38-year-old took a lengthy break from court for treatment before the start of the decider. Dimitrov filled the time doing press-ups.<\/p>\n
Two breaks of the Federer serve later, Dimitrov was 4-0 up and in uncharted territory.<\/p>\n
A Federer hold to 15 momentarily stopped the bleeding, until Dimitrov responded in kind.<\/p>\n
Federer made Dimitrov serve out the match, and the 28-year-old did so to love to seal the biggest win of his career, 3-6 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-2.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve been on this court so I was nervous in the first set and he served really well,\u201d said Dimitrov.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think after the second set I felt I was getting a good stride on my shots.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a really long game in the fourth set and I wanted to make him stay on court for long as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor sure he was not at his best at the end. It\u2019s the best of five and anything can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Novak Djokovic out Federer knew he had possibly the best chance he will get to win major title number 21.<\/p>\n
Little wonder, then, that he cut a disconsolate figure afterwards, admitting his back was playing up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just feel low,\u201d he said. \u201cJust disappointed it\u2019s over because I did feel like I was actually playing really well after a couple of rocky starts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a missed opportunity to some extent that you\u2019re in the lead, you can get through, you have two days off after. It was looking good.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the last four Dimitrov will face Daniil Medvedev, who continued to wind up the US Open crowd after knocking out Stan Wawrinka to reach his first grand slam semi.<\/p>\n
The Russian fifth seed remains public enemy number one among the Flushing Meadows fans after flipping them a \u2018visual obscenity\u2019 during his win over Feliciano Lopez last week.<\/p>\n
Medvedev needed extensive treatment to his thigh during the first set, which he eventually took on a tie-break.<\/p>\n
Wawrinka, the 2016 champion, must have felt he might have another retirement on his hands, having seen previous opponent Novak Djokovic throw in the towel two nights earlier.<\/p>\n
But despite the crowd once again cheering Wawrinka\u2019s every point to the rafters, it was Medvedev who ran out the 7-6 (6) 6-3 3-6 6-1 winner.<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old\u2019s goading of the crowd in his on-court interviews has been a feature of this tournament, and he concluded his latest one by saying: \u201cSo many people support me, so many people don\u2019t like me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can just say, I try to be myself guys. I have to say, sorry guys, and thank you!\u201d<\/p>\n
Medvedev earlier explained his injury issues, revealing he felt he may not be able to finish the match.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThe match was really strange. I had really big pain in my quadriceps and I didn\u2019t feel I could continue in the first set.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel really strange about this match but I\u2019m happy to be in my first major semi-final.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the match I was feeling perfect, and all these tapes were for protection.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the first game of the match I pulled my quadriceps. I took a painkiller and by the fourth set I was feeling normal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll see how I feel in the morning and try my best to be fit for the semis.\u201d<\/p>\n