Roger Federer’s hopes of extending his tally of 20 Grand Slam titles in 2019 were dashed in the quarter-final of the US Open, where he was beaten in five-sets by Grigor Dimitrov. The Swiss will now have to wait until 2020 to try and win one of tennis’ four biggest tournaments.
It was Federer who took the first set at Flushing Meadows in New York, prevailing 6-3 against an opponent he has had a lot of success over. Dimitrov levelled the match in the second, where a single break was proven enough to secure the set. Federer regained the advantage in the third set and was only one away from the match at that point but the Bulgarian refused to give up.
Dimitrov produced his best tennis at the back end of the last eight encounters to first level and then secure a spot in the semi-final to face Russian Daniil Medvedev after sealing the fifth set 6-2.
Federer first tasted Grand Slam success at Wimbledon in 2003, his first of eight titles at SW17, where he made the grass court his own in London. He also lost three finals on Centre Court, with his most recent coming back in July when Novak Djokovic won a thriller in five sets after a tie-breaker was needed at 12-12 in the final set.
The tournament in which Federer had to wait the longest to win was the French Open. That was largely down to Rafael Nadal’s dominance on clay. The man who many see as the greatest to ever play the game, reigned supreme in Paris in 2009 when he beat Robin Soderling in the final at Roland Garros.
At the age of 38, it is unclear as to how long Federer will continue in the sport. He has already seen off many of his rivals who started their careers later than him. The former world number one is still in great shape and will be hoping to end the year with some success, with the Tour Finals at the 02 Arena in London, the biggest event left on the calendar. He has come out on top six times in that tournament, however, his last win was all the way back in 2011.
Federer looks certain to return in 2020. His immediate goal will be the Australian Open, the first of the four Grand Slams in the year where he is a six-time winner. His victory in Melbourne in 2018, where he beat Marin Cilic in the final, is his last Grand Slam glory. He is 5/1 in the tennis betting to win the title once again at Melbourne Park.
No player has won a men’s Grand Slam title at Federer’s age. Ken Rosewall holds the record for being the oldest player in the modern era to prevail, and he did so when he was 37 years and 62 days old. Victory from now on in one of the four big events would ensure Federer secures that record.
Many pundits and tennis supporters have written Federer off before and they got it very wrong. This time around, there don’t seem to be too many people rushing in to say the Swiss will not win another Grand Slam title before he retires.