German tennis legend Boris Beck was invited by the BBC to talk about Roger Federer quarterfinal exit at the Wimbledon. The 20 time Grand Slam winner lost to Polish youngster Hubert Hurkacz in straights sets. The youngster won 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-0 to progress through to the semifinals.
It can be called one of the worst defeats in Federer’s career as he served a bagel on his last set. The Swiss maestro looked far from his best as he was physically and mentally exhausted. The 39-year-old looked very timid with his approach and never looked like he was threatening Hurkacz. Obviously, after a performance like that Federer was asked about his retirement which he tactfully avoided. Speaking on the same matter Becker highlighted that there are concerns for the Swiss especially with some of the shots that he played in the quarterfinals.
“I noticed the mishits, awkward-looking points from Roger Federer and obviously the last set of course, 6-0,” Becker said. “It’s something we’re never seen from him on Centre Court.
He also made some uncharacteristic errors, something which is not synonymous with Federer. Looking at the conditions Becker feels that could be the last action of the Swiss legend at Wimbledon.
“He would never ever say if there was a niggle, but I don’t know if we will ever see the great man again here,” Becker said. “It’s normal for everybody to make mistakes but he’s a perfectionist. Some of these mistakes were big mistakes.”
The German believes that there are physical constraints which are forcing Federer to make mistakes during high voltage matches. “He was completely off with his timing,” Becker said. “That can happen in a game or two but in his case it was throughout the whole game. We can only wonder what happened, but what we do know is that time does not stand still for any man or woman.”
The six time Major winner however hopes that Federer returns to the Wimbledon Centre Court as he does not want his last set the event to be a 6-0.
“I hope so. I don’t want to see him lose his last set at Wimbledon 6-0. But he wasn’t good enough today,” Becker added.
Lastly, he hailed the young Polish tennis star for holding his own despite playing the fan favourite at his den.
“For him to keep his composure and not to get flustered or nervous is amazing. That win speaks volumes,” he concluded.
