By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Roger Federer has had many glorious victories at Wimbledon. But what was his worst defeat?
While some of his final-round losses have stung at the hands of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal – as well as his final defeat at the hands of Hubert Hurkacz – Federer’s second round loss to Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine, who was ranked No. 116 in the world at the time, is probably his worst loss ever at the All England Club.
The following is the excerpt from the June 26 chapter in my book “On This Day In Roger Federer History” (for sale and download here https://a.co/d/0i6vqMGo) that describes the Federer loss to Stakhovsky. The “On This Day In Roger Federer History” book, published by New Chapter Press, outlines most of Federer’s matches in his career in a day-by-day anniversary format from January 1 until December 31.
2013: One of the craziest days in the 127-year history of Wimbledon – where seven former No. 1 ranked players are defeated – is capped with Roger Federer’s stunning 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-5, 7-6(5) second-round upset loss by the hands of No. 116-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine on Centre Court. The loss ends one of the greatest streaks in professional sports – Federer’s run of 36 major tournaments where he reaches at least the quarterfinals that starts at Wimbledon in 2004. The loss is also the seven-time Wimbledon champion’s earliest at the All England Club since his first-round loss to Mario Ancic in 2002. It is also his earliest exit at a major since losing to Luis Horna in the first round of the French Open in 2003. It also marks the earliest exit for a defending Wimbledon champion since Lleyton Hewitt loses in the first round to Ivo Karlovic in 2003, the year Federer first wins at the All England Club. The shocking loss comes just two days after his fellow tennis legend No. 5 seed Rafael Nadal, with whom he is hyped as his potential quarterfinal opponent, loses in the opening round to No. 135-ranked Steve Darcis of Belgium. A solemn but accepting Federer meets with the press following the loss and says, “It’s always a disappointing losing a match, particularly here…It was a tough loss today…I just have to get over this one…I am very disappointed that I could find a way… It’s very frustrating and disappointing. I am going to accept it and move on and look forward to the next challenge.” What makes the upset even more remarkable is that Stakhovsky enters the match with an 0-20 career record against top 10 players – and Roger Federer, the seven-time Wimbledon champion playing on Centre Court at Wimbledon is not your average top 10 player. Stakhovsky calls the victory “magic” to the BBC shortly after the match, saying breathlessly “I am still in disbelief” over his historic victory. When asked how he felt about his streak of 36 straight major quarterfinal showings ending, Federer smirks and says “I’ll be OK” before adding “It’s a great number. I wish it wasn’t going to end here today.”
