US Open 2019: Roger Federer's quarter-final exit at the hands of Grigor Dimitrov leaves Twitterverse shocked

Betrayed by his forehand, and maybe his body, too, Roger Federer is out of the US Open. Federer gave away a lead against a guy he’d never lost to and was beaten 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 by 78th-ranked Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-final before a stunned crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium. “He started slowing down a little bit,” Dimitrov said. “For sure, in the end, he was not 100 percent of himself.” Chasing a 21st Grand Slam title, and sixth at Flushing Meadows, the 38-year-old Federer took a rare-for-him medical timeout after the fourth set, leaving the court with a trainer. It was not immediately clear what might have been wrong with Federer, although he did appear to be flexing his back after some points. When play resumed after a break of nearly 10 minutes, Federer’s form never picked up. He kept contributing to Dimitrov’s cause, missing shots this way and that, long or wide or into the net. The stats were staggering and showed exactly how off Federer was on this evening: 61 unforced errors, 33 on the forehand side. Compare that to his 40 total winners. Let’s now take a look at how users on social media platform Twitter reaction to Federer’s shock loss: “This is Grigor’s moment”:

Federer said it was an upper back issue which started this afternoon, but doesn’t want to dwell on it.

“This is Grigor’s moment and not my body’s moment.”#USOpen

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) September 4, 2019

First time in a decade and a half:

This is the first time since the 2005 Australian Open that both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic were in the same half of a hardcourt Slam and neither reached the final.

Marat Safin beat Federer in an epic semi after routing a 17 year old Djokovic in the first round. #USOpen

— Trenton Jocz (@TrentonJocz) September 4, 2019

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Never been one quite like him:

Roger Federer has never defaulted in the middle of a match. He was obviously done after 4 sets tonight but at age 38 he played on for the crowd and his opponent. Never been one quite like him.

— Joe Posnanski (@JPosnanski) September 4, 2019

Fans at the Flushing Meadows be like:

NYC crowd losing Federer but keeping Medvedev: pic.twitter.com/uhJWBltOge

— Carole Bouchard 💜💛 (@carole_bouchard) September 4, 2019

Nadal fans be like:

Djokovic: shoulder
Federer: back
Wawrinka: sick
Thiem: virus

Nadal fans trying to ward off the curse: #USOpen pic.twitter.com/ahx2ll603y

— Trenton Jocz (@TrentonJocz) September 4, 2019

That is some underdog story right there:

One of the most incredible resurgences:

I hope Federer’s struggles don’t take away from what Grigor Dimitrov is about to accomplish.

Yes he got a favorable draw, but this one of the most incredible single-tournament resurgences in recent tennis history.

— Ricky Dimon (@Dimonator) September 4, 2019

That’s how you celebrate the biggest victory of your career yet:

Semifinal feels ☺@GrigorDimitrov | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/rIYfHGF98j

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 4, 2019

With inputs from AP