Was Sunday the unofficial end of the Roger Federer era in tennis? After being upset in the fourth round of the 2019 Australian Open, Federer has not reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam event for more than a year. It marks the longest final four drought of his career, since he won the first of his record 20 major men’s titles at Wimbledon in 2003.
Federer, a six-time former Australian Open winner and the current world-ranked #3 player, lost in four sets 6-7 (11), 7-6 (3), 7-5, 7-6 (5) to an unheralded Greek player, Stefanos Tsitsipas. The latter is 20 years old; Federer is 37, and was the world’s #1 ranked junior player when Tsitispas was just four months old.
Still, Federer’s loss was partly self-inflicted. He failed to convert a single one of the 12 break points he earned against Tsitsipas. “I have massive regrets,” Federer said after the match. But he also acknowledged Tsitsipas’ resilience. “Hung in there, gave himself chances at some points, stayed calm. It’s not always easy, especially for younger guys,” Federer said. “Credit to him for taking care of that.”
At the time of his loss, Federer was the oldest male player left in the tournament field. Two of the other Big Three legends besides Federer—Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal—have had little trouble dispatching their early round opponents in Melbourne. Top-seeded Djokovic plays his fourth round match tonight, while Nadal has already made the quarterfinals, where he will face the up-and-coming 21-year-old American Frances Tiafoe.
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