Roger Federer's reign as a grand slam contender in question after John Millman shock

Roger Federer, of Switzerland, left, shakes hands with John Millman, of Australia, after losing during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament. Photo / AP

Roger Federer served poorly. Closed poorly, too. And now he's gone, beaten at the US Open by an opponent ranked outside the top 50 for the first time in his career.

Looking slow and tired on a sweltering night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Federer double-faulted 10 times, failed to convert a trio of set points and lost 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3) in the fourth round to John Millman in a match that began Monday and concluded at nearly 1am the following day.

It's only the second time in Federer's past 14 appearances at the US Open that he's lost before the quarterfinals. He is, after all, a five-time champion at the tournament, part of his men's-record haul of 20 Grand Slam titles.

So much for that much-anticipated matchup between Federer and 13-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. Instead, it'll be the 55th-ranked Millman, who had never made it past the third round at a Slam until last week, taking on No. 6 seed Djokovic.

Federer is probably done winning Slams for real this time. The 2017 run was icing on the cake and the Aussie this year was icing on top of the icing. You’re not supposed to be at the top level of tennis in your late 30s.

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) September 4, 2018

Can we not act like it's a tragedy if Fed falls here? He's won 20 majors. He's 37. It's miserably humid. He will be back ... and @johnhmillman deserves his moment

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 4, 2018

I said at the last Aussie final that “time waits for no one. Except @rogerfederer .” But to be fair, there are NO exceptions. Off nights happen to them all, no matter how great, with increasing frequency as time marches on. And they always make us sad.

— Chris Fowler (@cbfowler) September 4, 2018

Millman was adamant he would not be intimidated by Federer, and perhaps was helped by having spent time practising together a few months ago ahead of the grass-court portion of this season.

Still, this was a stunner. Not simply because Federer lost — he entered the day 28-0 at the US Open, and 127-1 in all Grand Slam matches, against foes below No. 50 in the ATP rankings — but how he lost.

Start with this: Federer held two set points while serving for the second at 5-4, 40-15 and did not pull through; he had a set point in the third at 6-5 in the tie-breaker, but again was stymied.

In the fourth set, he went up a break at 4-2, yelling "Come on!" and getting all of those rowdy spectators in their "RF" gear on their feet, prompting the chair umpire to repeatedly plead for silence.

Crazy to see Federer crumble like that in the tiebreaker. So many uncharacteristic unforced errors. A monumental upset. #USOpen

— Stephen Watson (@SWatsonTV) September 4, 2018

But Federer uncharacteristically got broken right back with a sloppy game, most egregiously when he slapped what should have been an easy putaway into the net.

And then there was his serve.

In the final tie-breaker, he double-faulted twice in a row.

The first obvious signs of trouble for Federer came far earlier, in the second game of the second set. He started that 15-minute struggle by missing 18 of his initial 20 first serves. While he eventually held there, he needed to save seven break points along the way. It was clear that the 37-year-old Federer was not at his best.

Some wonder whether he ever will be again.

Federer in choke mode now. Unbelievable. Two double faults in a tiebreak. Never seen him like this. #USOpen

— Cedric Golden (@CedGolden) September 4, 2018

Shocked. Roger Federer has not looked like himself at all tonight. The double faults, the unforced errors. He’s the greatest men’s player of all time. This is weird to watch.

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) September 4, 2018

Maybe the 75 per cent humidity played a role. Millman's big rips on groundstrokes didn't help matters. As the unforced errors mounted — Federer would finish with 77, nearly three times as many as Millman's 28 — Federer's wife, Mirka, couldn't bear to look, placing her forehead on her hands in the guest box in the stands.

Federer hung his head at a changeover, a little black fan pointed right at his face, but nothing seemed to make him feel like himself.