Mason, Ohio – Roger Federer was the only one who saw it coming.
Too much tennis, too little time off. The world’s top player knew it was the perfect combination for a long-awaited upset, one that a disbelieving British teenager pulled off Wednesday.
Andy Murray’s 7-5, 6-4 victory in the second round of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters ended Federer’s 55-match winning streak in North America and provided his earliest tournament exit in two years. The streak included two U.S. Open titles that helped stamp Federer as one of the sport’s all-time best players.
“The streaks? I don’t care about those now that they’re over,” said Federer, who hadn’t lost in straight sets in his past 194 matches. “It’s going to be a relief for everybody, and now we can move on.”
Federer’s last loss on the continent also came at the Cincinnati-area tournament, when Dominik Hrbaty beat him in the first round Aug. 3, 2004. Federer had a premonition the streak might end there as well.
He beat Richard Gasquet in three sets Sunday to win a Masters Series title in Toronto, then had only one day to travel, sneak in a little practice and get ready to resume the grind. He thought there was a good chance he would get knocked out early.
“Two Masters series back-to- back – 12 matches in 13 days – it’s something of the impossible,” he said.
The loss left Federer 62-5 this year and ended his bid to match one of the sport’s enduring marks. He had reached the final of his past 17 tournaments since June 2005, one shy of matching Ivan Lendl’s Open era record of 18 straight since 1981-82.
The numbers were so daunting, the 19-year-old Murray – in only his second year on the tour – didn’t think he had much of a chance to pull off the upset.
Murray had been playing well, winning 18 of his past 23 matches. He made it to the semifinals at Toronto, and his ranking was a career-best No. 21.
He could see right away that Federer’s game was off, but wasn’t very comforted.
“I know Federer didn’t play his best match, but how many guys beat him when he’s playing badly anyway?” Murray said.
The answer: almost none.
When Federer’s final return sailed out – like so many before it – Murray went numb.
“I don’t know what to say,” said Murray, who calmly jogged to the net to shake Federer’s hand. “I didn’t know how to react at the end, because I definitely was not planning on winning the match.”