DUBAI // Evgeny Donskoy, a qualifier ranked No 116 in the world, played the match of his life on Wednesday, saving three match points to stun Australian Open champion Roger Federer 3-6, 7-6, 7-6.
The 26-year-old Russian paid little heed to the reputation of the man across the net – a record 18-time grand slam winner and a seven-time Dubai champion – hitting incredible winners, almost at will, as he staged a fearless and sensational fightback after losing the first set.
Donskoy, who has reached only 11 grand slam main draws and has never gone beyond the third round, saved three match points in the second set tie-break and then came back from the brink in the decider, breaking Federer as the Swiss served for the match at 5-3.
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He broke the world No 10 again in the 11th game and should have served out for the match, but Federer broke back. Donskoy, however, got the job done in the tie-break, fighting back from 5-1 down to cause the biggest upset of the year, hitting only 17 unforced errors to Federer’s 31 in the process.
“To be honest, Federer did not play the kind of tennis he is capable of,” Donskoy said. “I just tried to enjoy myself playing this legend.”
“I had my chances,” said a disappointed Federer. “Don’t know how it got away, but he did very well, and yeah, it’s a rough one, for sure.
“Timing, I thought, was off for me today. Legs also felt slower out here tonight. I didn’t feel tired all day. I tried to get myself in shape, and, you know, like warm up properly, do all the things I always do, regardless if it’s a first round or a final.
“There’s no excuses there. I just think it’s still the beginning of the comeback and got to take the positives out of playing again a tournament where I feel I’m quite healthy and I’m happy I got over the injury I sustained at the Australian Open.
“Maybe didn’t allow me to practice as much as I was hoping to in Switzerland, but at the same time also needed the rest.
“There was also no problem there, really. I came early. I was perfectly prepared. It’s just a tough loss tonight. So many chances. It was crazy.
“I think what also sort of carried through the whole match is like I just didn’t know Donskoy. So many times, I just didn’t know what his patterns were. I didn’t know what his preferences are and if he does hit a big forehand down the line, is that normal or is that just right now? Is he going to do that on big shots, big points or not?
“All that stuff got me a little bit tense, and I could never quite play freely, which is quite surprising, considering how I played in Australia. But tennis is this way. Margins are small. Fast court like here, you can’t find much rhythm. Next thing you know, you’re struggling, and that’s OK.
“I could have won in two and I’d be already almost hitting the pillow now thinking about Lucas Pouille. But now here I’m explaining what didn’t go well.
“Clearly can become quite negative about it, but I won’t. It was a tough loss today. Donskoy did well, like I said. Just got to move on from here. Clearly would have liked to do much better here this week.”
Federer’s exit means there will be no dream semi-final between the Swiss and world No1 Andy Murray, who breezed through his second-round clash.
The last time he met Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, five years ago in the second round at Indian Wells, Murray remembered getting “killed” by the Spaniard in straight sets.
Last night, they had another gunfight at the packed Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium and, though Garcia-Lopez did cause some damage with his ballistic one-handed backhands, it was Murray who was last man standing, winning 6-2, 6-0.
Murray’s next opponent is Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, who won their first duel meeting in 2010 but has lost all four since, though all those matches have gone the distance.
“It will be tough because every time we have played we have had a lot of close matches,” said Murray, who hit 20 winners to Garcia-Lopez’s 12. “I think he likes the conditions here. He’s played well here the last few years. He obviously keeps coming back to this event. He obviously likes it here.
“Yeah, it will be a tricky one, for sure. He’s a talented guy. He uses the angles of the court well. He plays with a lot of spin and if you let him dictate the points, he makes you move a lot. So I need to play well.”
If Murray starts his quarter-final clash the way he finished on Wednesday, there should be few concerns. The start against Garcia-Lopez, though, was not as easy with the first two games taking 17 minutes and first four nearly 30.
“When I got the early break, pretty much was almost 30 minutes in and we’d only played four games,” Murray said. “Mentally, that was important for me to be up at that stage.
“It could have gone either way, obviously, the first few games. But being up at that stage helped, and then I loosened up a bit after that and played really well.
“I hit my forehand very well last couple of matches. I served better today. It’s been a good start. Obviously matches will get tougher, but I’m much happier with how I’m playing.
“In Australia, I didn’t feel like I moved that well in any of the matches. Definitely good to be out there, moving good from the beginning of the matches. Hopefully, I keep that going. It’s such an important part of my game.”
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