Tennis superstar Roger Federer knocked out of US Open by 55th ranked underdog

In a stunning upset, five-time US Open champion and world Number 2 Roger Federer was eliminated from the tournament by 55th-ranked Australian John Millman.

In a grueling match which began on Monday and ended around 1am Tuesday local time, clear favorite Federer unexpectedly lost to Millman 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3).

“I felt like a bit of a deer in headlights to begin with, to be honest with you. The feet weren’t moving,” the Australian player told AP after the match, describing how much he admired Federer as a tennis legend.

“I have so much respect for Roger and everything he’s done for the game. He’s been a hero of mine, and today he was definitely not at his best.”

Over the course of his illustrious career, Federer, 37, has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles, and became US Open champion five times in a row. His dramatic loss on Tuesday is only the second time in his 14 US Open runs he has failed to advance to the quarterfinals.

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Millman not only broke Federer’s 28-match US Open winning streak against opponents ranked below 50th in the world, but caused him to miss out on a much-anticipated showdown with two-time champion Novak Djokovic.

John Millman, 28, had previously never made it past the third round in a Grand Slam tournament.

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