Roger Federer, third in the world, was eliminated on Tuesday by Grigor Dimitrov (78th) in the quarter-finals of the US Open 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. The 38-year-old Swiss seemed physically diminished and multiplied direct mistakes. It is therefore the Bulgarian who will face the Russian Daniil Medvedev (5th) Friday for a place in the final.
"I'm just happy . " "I understood that I had to keep him on the court and in the fifth set he was clearly not 100%," said Dimitrov. "In the first set, I was nervous and served him well, I just wanted to hang on ... I'm just happy," he said. The Bulgarian had never advanced to the last 32 at Flushing Meadows until then. He had hit them twice in 2014 and 2016.
Federer, eliminated in the last 16 last year in New York, remained on a dazzling Wimbledon where, after defeating Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, he fought a Homeric battle against Novak Djokovic but lost the final. Then at the US Open, he was not convincing in his first two rounds, where he gave a set each time. He had however found a very good level in the 3rd round and in 8th. Tuesday against Dimitrov, he has increased the number of unforced errors (61 in total), like the match ball where his forehand went out in the hallway, often due to a random placement.