There is no reason for celebration this time for Roger Federer. The Swiss tennis star fought for a place in the quarterfinals against Evgeny Donskoy from Russia. So, Federer joins other top seeded players that were eliminated earlier today. It should have been an easy task but turned out to be one of the biggest upsets of the season having a player from outside of the top 100 defeating the champion of this year's Australian Open. Federer will now prepare for the North American outdoor swing.
Federer's opponent truly believed in his chances
The first set saw the same old Federer as the Swiss got in front from the start.
Throughout the set, Federer broke Donskoy twice and took the set by 6-3. The 2nd set saw a different Russian with more vigor in his bones. He had a chance to level the score but Federer saved a set point. The set went to a tie-break where Federer built himself a solid lead. He had 3 chances to close the match, but he missed them all. The Russian saw a big opportunity and it paid off. In the decisive set, once more Federer took the lead. At 5-4, as the 2017 Australian Open champion and the 3rd seed in Dubai had the chance to close the match on his serve. But something did not work properly and Donskoy broke back. From that point, he really became aware of his chances. Again, the clash went on a tie-break.
With the scoreboard pressure soaring on Federer, Donskoy closed the match when the first chance emerged.
Federer being defeated should not be that shocking
As he stated prior to this tournament, Roger Federer reached a level of fulfilment especially after his tremendous success in Melbourne. The upcoming ATP events, Indian Wells and Miami both come with a different vibe.
These are the last 2 outdoor hard events until the US Open series will start in July. But, that doesn't at all diminish the Russian player's credit. He put forth a tremendous effort as he stood like a thorn in Federer's side. Ultimately, it will be interesting to see how Roger Federer responds moving forward.
