The tournament’s eight-time champion was overpowered in his quarterfinal match on Centre Court, losing in straight sets to 14th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland.
On the grass court where he won a record eight men’s singles titles, Roger Federer was defeated,6-3,7-6 (4) 6-0, by Hubert Hurkacz on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. Shanking forehands and misjudging volleys, Federer,39 and seeded sixth, was far from his finest on Centre Court, but Hurkacz, the 14th seed, still had to summon the power and gumption to knock him out. Hurkacz, a good-natured Pole who is based in Florida, had never been past the third round at Wimbledon or any Grand Slam tournament before his visit this year to the All England Club. In 2019, he lost to Federer in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., in their only previous singles match. But this quarterfinal match, which lasted just 1 hour 49 minutes, will be the one that will remain most embedded in both men’s memories and quite a few more, if it turns out to be Federer’s final match here. He first played at Wimbledon in 1998, winning the boys’ singles and doubles titles, and became a star in 2001 by upsetting the seven-time Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras in the fourth round in his first match on Centre Court. In 2003, he won his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, defeating Mark Philippoussis in the final. Though Federer is Swiss, Wimbledon has long felt like home turf with the largely British crowd warming to his elegant game and understated on-court presence. He has experienced great success here but also great disappointment.
