Wimbledon: 'I don't know, I've had to regroup,' says Roger Federer following his shocking quarter-final exit

Roger Federer was knocked out of Wimbledon in the quarter-finals by Poland's Hubert Hurkacz on Wednesday, but he claimed he will not be rushed into retirement despite the fact that his 40th birthday is only five weeks away. Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, was defeated 6-3, 7-6, 6-0 by a player 15 years his junior. It's only the eighth-time Wimbledon champion's 14th defeat in 119 matches, and his first straight-sets loss since a first-round elimination since an opening round exit against Mario Ancic in 2002. Also, it was the first time he had lost a set 6-0 at Wimbledon, and only the third time in his Slam career.

The other two times were at the French Open, against Pat Rafter in 1999 and Rafael Nadal in 2008.

When asked if his Wimbledon career was ended, Federer replied, "I don't know.I really don't know. I've got to regroup. We were always going to sit down and discuss about everything that happened after Wimbledon since, obviously, Wimbledon is now finished. I was able to take a few days off. Just look at it like this, Okay, what do I need to do to get in better shape so that I can be more competitive?"

Moreover, those talks will also focus on his participation in the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which begin in just over two weeks.

Federer has not won a Grand Slam since the 2018 Australian Open, but he defeated Novak Djokovic in the 2019 Wimbledon final on two match points.

"Certainly, there are still a lot of things missing in my game that were very straightforward and very typical for me to do 10, 15, 20 years ago," he continued ruefully. Federer had only played eight matches this year before to Wimbledon as he recovers from two knee procedures scheduled for 2020. "Of course, I'd like to play it again, but at my age, you never know what's around the corner," Federer remarked.

Former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker, on the other hand, doubts Federer will return to the tournament. Federer would have been the oldest guy in nearly a half-century to reach the final four if he had won on Wednesday.

"I noticed the mis-hits, Roger's awkward looking moments, and clearly the last set, of course, 6-0," Becker added.

Hurkacz levelled the match from 1-4 down in the eighth game before dominating the tiebreak. Federer appeared to be punch drunk, and he fell behind 0-2 in the third set before Hurkacz finished out the match in 29 minutes. He is only the second Pole to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals, the other being Jerzy Janowicz in 2013.

Next up is a match against Matteo Berrettini of Italy for a spot in Sunday's final. "Roger was praising me and wishing me luck in the upcoming matches," Hurkacz remarked. "Obviously, walking off the court knowing that I had defeated Roger, it was like a dream come true, especially here on the grass at Wimbledon." Hurkacz had only met Federer once before Wednesday, in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Indian Wells Masters. Still, his run to the semi-finals is outstanding given that he had only won one match on tour between his surprising Miami Masters win in March and the start of Wimbledon.

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