Roger Federer's dream of winning a record-equalling ninth Wimbledon title ended with a heart-breaking 6-3 7-6(4) 6-0 quarterfinal defeat by Poland's Hubert Hurkacz.
Photo: AFP
Before this fortnight, 14th seed Hurkacz had won only four matches on grass but no one would have guessed his lack of grasscourt pedigree after witnessing the stupendous display he put in against his own childhood idol.
All the cheers and standing ovations in the world could not save Federer from the Centre Court mauling as it seemed his 39-year-old body finally said enough is enough.
A Federer forehand into the tramlines handed Hurkacz the biggest win of his career while fans were left wondering that should this turn out to be the Swiss's final Wimbledon appearance, there could not have been a more cruel way to bow out than losing 6-0 in the final set of his 22nd appearance.
Never before had Federer been wiped out in a set at Wimbledon.
After celebrating his triumph with a flying leap, Hurkacz joined the near 15,000 fans who had packed into Centre Court to give Wimbledon's favourite son a standing ovation as he made a swift exit from the arena.
"I don't know if we will ever see the great man again here," former champion Boris Becker said, voicing the fears of thousands of fans who had flocked to the All England Club to see him and millions more watching on TV.
Photo: AFP
Hurkacz was just two when Federer made his Wimbledon debut in 1999 and aged six when the Swiss won the first of his record 20 Grand Slam titles at the championships in 2003.
He will be hoping he can keep up his remarkable and unexpected winning run in a tournament where he has not only beaten Federer but also knocked out world number two Danill Medvedev just a day earlier.
"It's super special for me playing on this special court against Roger, it's a dream come true," said the 24-year-old, who will play either Matteo Berrettini or Felix Auger Aliassime for a place in Sunday's final.
"I'm super-proud and super-happy to be here. I cannot wait for the next one."
Asked if he believed he could win, he replied: "Probably not!"
Federer, the winner of 20 Grand Slam titles, had been chasing Martina Navratilova's All England Club record haul of nine singles titles.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Earlier Novak Djokovic recorded a century of tour-level wins on grass as he suffocated the challenge of Marton Fucsovics with a 6-3 6-4 6-4 win to reach the Wimbledon semifinals.
While such numbers might sound impressive, for Djokovic the only statistic that matters is that his dream of joining Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal on a record 20 Grand Slam titles was still very much alive as was the chance of becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete the calendar slam.
Fucsovics produced some gutsy shots to stay alive in the first set when Djokovic stood at 5-0 up with two set points and hung in with the top seed till 4-4 in the second.
But once Djokovic broke for a 5-4 lead in the second set, it was clear that this would not be his day.
In his 10th Wimbledon semifinal, and 41st across all four majors, the Serbian will meet either Canadian 10th seed Denis Shapovalov in the last four.
Shapovalov produced a storming finish to beat Karen Khachanov in five sets and reach the Wimbledon semi-finals, his deepest run at a Grand Slam tournament.
The quarterfinal seemed to be slipping away from the stylish 22-year-old left-hander when he trailed by two sets to one but he hit back to win 6-4 3-6 5-7 6-1 6-4.
Both 10th seed Shapovalov and 25th seed Khachanov were playing in a Grand Slam quarterfinal for only the second time and they delivered a superb contest on a packed No.1 Court.
Italy's seventh seed Matteo Berrettini advanced to the semi-final with a four set win over 16th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
- Reuters