US Open: Federer said goodbye to New York with a five-set defeat

Far away now the five titles in a row that he obtained
Roger Federer at
US Open, between 2004 and 2008. As of 2009, with that final lost against Juan Martín del Potro, the Swiss could not celebrate again in the Big Apple. A frustration that adds a new chapter in 2019: the world number 3 said goodbye to the last Grand Slam of the season. In the quarterfinals, the Swiss fell in five sets against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 and 6-2.

Dimitrov, currently 78th in the 28-year world rankings, had the pleasure of winning Federer for the first time after suffering seven falls to the Swiss between 2013 and 2018. But on Tuesday night, in the immense Arthur Ashe, the Bulgarian managed to reverse an encounter that appeared adverse, and will be for the first time in the semifinals. So far, his best performance had been in 2014 and 2016, when he reached the eighth.

The triumph of Dimitrov

In search of the final, Dimitrov, who was Top 3 den 2017 but here came as 78th in the world, will face Russian Daniil Medvedev, who earlier defeated Swiss Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (8-6), 6 -3, 3-6 and 6-1. The clash between Dimitrov and the current world number 5 guarantees that this US Open will have a new finalist in Grand Slams. The record between Bulgarian and Russian is matched, with a win for each.

The defeat of Federer, on the other hand, implies another disappointment for those awaiting a dream final between the Swiss and Rafael Nadal, who comes from the other side of the table and this Thursday will be measured with Diego Schwartzman for the quarterfinals. Interestingly, the tennis superclassic never came to play in the US Open, and will not arrive this season.
For Federer, it was his seventh loss throughout the season, but Dimitrov was the lowest ranking to beat him. Previously, the Swiss lost with Andrey Rublev (70th) in Cincinnati, with Djokovic (1st) in Wimbledon, with Nadal (2nd) in Roland Garros, with Dominic Thiem (5th) in Madrid and Indian Wells, and in Australia with Stefanos Tsitsipas (7th).

Federer, winner of 20 Grand Slams, could be stalked by Nadal if the Spaniard manages to leave Flushing Meadows champion. The left-hander of Manacor accumulates 18 large crowns, three of them on New York cement.
"I am disappointed, because I thought I was playing well after a couple of bad starts," Federer said of the first two games, in which he had been vulnerable. "Everything seemed fine, but you have to accept the losses are part of the game," added the Swiss, who accused some discomfort in the upper back. "I felt something in the afternoon, but I was prepared to play. I was fine and tried to do my best. But this is Grigor's moment, not the moment to talk about my body," he said about it, without making excuses.

On the other hand, Dimitrov enjoys his best performance in a discreet season: the Bulgarian had arrived in New York with more defeats than wins (12-15) throughout the year, including five first-wheel falls in the last six tournaments prior to the US Open "I think the key to this is consistency. I came here after losing a lot of games that I shouldn't have lost, but I kept believing in myself. I kept working and trying to improve, but sometimes the simplest things seem to be the most difficult." , highlighted the talented Bulgarian player, whom many saw years ago as the possible successor of Federer, for having a style of play similar to that of the Swiss, but failed to stand out in the big dates. For Dimitrov, it is his third arrival in the semifinals of a Grand Slam, after Wimbledon 2014 and Australia 2017, and the first in the Big Apple.
As for the ranking, the fall does not affect Federer too much, which actually added 180 points more than last year. Yes it will represent a meteoric rise for Dimitrov: his five wins in this US Open assured him the return to the Top 25, with an escalation of 53 positions in the ATP classification. Obviously, it could continue to rise if it keeps the winning step in New York, and it could even become Top 10 if champion is enshrined.