LONDON - As tumultuous a day as professional tennis has produced ended in the most unforeseeable, unexplainable way of all: A second-round loss by Roger Federer at the All England Club.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion and 17-time Grand Slam champ shuffled off Centre Court with dusk approaching on the fortnight’s first Wednesday, his head bowed, his streak of reaching at least the quarterfinals at a record 36 consecutive major tournaments snapped by a man ranked 116th in the world.
His remarkable 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) defeat against Sergiy Stakhovsky marked Federer’s earliest Grand Slam exit in a decade. He lost in the first round of the French Open on May 26, 2003, back before he owned a single trophy from any of the sport’s most important sites.
“This is a setback, a disappointment, whatever you want to call it,” said Federer, the defending champion. “Got to get over this one. Some haven’t hurt this much, that’s for sure.”
He had plenty of company on a wild, wild Wednesday brimming with surprising results, a slew of injuries - and all manner of sliding and tumbling on the revered grass courts, prompting questions about whether something made them more slippery.
Seven players left because of withdrawals or midmatch retirements, believed to be the most in a single day at a Grand Slam tournament in the 45-year Open era. Among that group: second-seeded Victoria Azarenka; sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga; 18th-seeded John Isner, who will forever be remembered for winning a 70-68 fifth set in the longest match ever in 2010; and Steve Darcis, the man who stunned 12-time major champion Rafael Nadal on Monday.
“Very black day,” said 10th-seeded Marin Cilic, who said a bad left knee forced him to pull out of his match.
The third-seeded Federer simply was unable to derail Stakhovsky’s serve-and-volley style, breaking the 27-year-old Ukrainian only once.
Still, there actually was a real chance for Federer to get back in the thick of things. Ahead 6-5 in the fourth, he held a set point asStakhovsky served at 30-40. But Stakhovsky came up with this sequence: volley winner, 111-mph ace, serve-and-volley winner.
In the closing tiebreaker, with spectators roaring after every point, Stakhovsky raced to a 5-2 lead, and the match ended with Federer pushing a backhand wide on a 13-stroke exchange. Stakhovsky dropped to his back, then later bowed to the stadium’s four sides. He sat in his sideline chair, purple Wimbledon towel draped over his head, as Federer quickly headed for the locker room.Stakhovsky peeked out and saw Federer leaving, then applauded right along with the fans’ standing ovation.
“You’re playing the guy and then you’re playing his legend,” Stakhovsky said. “You’re playing two of them. When you’re beating one, you still have the other one who is pressing you. You’re saying, ‘Am I about to beat him? Is it possible?’”
It was, and Federer was one of seven players who have been ranked No. 1 to depart the tournament in a span of about 8½ hours. The others: Maria Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, who lost 6-3, 6-4 to 131st-ranked Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal; Caroline Wozniacki; Ana Ivanovic; Jelena Jankovic; Azarenka; and Lleyton Hewitt, who won Wimbledon in 2002.
All told, five players who have combined to win 26 Grand Slam titles headed home, along with another three who have been the runner-up at a major tournament.Wimbledon glance LONDON - A look at Wimbledon on Wednesday: WEATHER Partly cloudy. High of 72 degrees.
MEN’S SEEDED WINNERS No. 2 Andy Murray; No. 15 Nicolas Almagro; No. 20 Mikhail Youzhny; No. 22 Juan Monaco;
No. 24 Jerzy Janowicz; No. 25 Benoit Paire; No. 32 Tommy Robredo.
MEN’S SEEDED LOSERS No. 3 Roger Federer; No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga; No.
10 Marin Cilic; No. 18 John Isner; No.
31 Julien Benneteau.
WOMEN’S SEEDED WINNERS No. 8 Petra Kvitova; No. 15 Marion Bartoli; No.
17 Sloane Stephens; No. 19 Carla Suarez Navarro; No. 20 Kirsten Flipkens; No. 25 Ekaterina Makarova; No. 29 Alize Cornet.
WOMEN’S SEEDED LOSERS No. 2 Victoria Azarenka; No. 3 Maria Sharapova;
No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki; No. 12 Ana Ivanovic; No. 16 Jelena Jankovic; No. 22 Sorana Cirstea; No. 27 Lucie Safarova.
TODAY’S FORECAST Partly cloudy, rain expected by the end of the afternoon.
High of 70 degrees.
Sports, Pages 17 on 06/27/2013