Evgeny Donskoy was on the losing end of what has to be considered the most monumental collapse in all of 2016. But he reversed roles on Wednesday, and he did so at the expense of a particularly unlikely opponent.
Donskoy, who lost to Steve Johnson despite leading 6-4, 6-1, 5-2, and 0-40 on Johnson’s serve at last summer’s U.S. Open, saved three match points in a second-set tiebreaker, stormed back from 5-2 deficit in the final set, and dug out of a 5-1 hole in the third-set tiebreaker to shock Roger Federer 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(5) in round two of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
“I had my chances,” Federer commented. “I should somehow close it out. Don’t know how it got away, but he did very well. Yeah, it’s a rough one for sure.”
It is especially hard to fathom how Federer’s match point at 6-4 in the second-set ‘breaker went by the wayside. The reigning Australian Open champion did no wrong with well-executed first serve out wide to the deuce court, but Donskoy made a mockery of it by hammering a down-the-line forehand return winner.
After somehow squandering the second set, Federer seemed to restore order when he broke serve in the sixth game of the decider en route to a 5-2 lead. Again, however, Donskoy raised his level while staring down what looked like inevitable defeat. The world No. 116 ran off four straight games, even giving himself a chance to serve for the upset at 6-5.
That’s when the emotional roller-coaster became even more heart-stopping. It was now Federer’s turn to come back from the dead, as he suddenly broke back at love to stay alive and force another tiebreaker. Thus a stretch of nine out of 10 points in Federer’s favor began, carrying the seven-time Dubai champ to a 5-1 advantage in the ‘breaker. In typical fashion, however, Donskoy once again played his best with his back against the wall and stole the final six points of the match in stunning fashion.
The world No. 116 struck five consecutive winning shots to go from 5-1 down to 6-5 up before the two-hour and two-minute affair ended on a forehand error by Federer.
“I surprised everyone today,” Donskoy assured. “I think whoever wins against Roger surprises himself. I can say it’s a dream come true.”
Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRSv4VTwOwk
Donskoy interview:
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What I got out of the AO was that this was going to be a very interesting year. I have watched a few tournaments now and seeds are falling right and left to guys who on paper shouldn’t be winning. So while this may be surprising, to me it wasn’t shocking. Roger got beat and that’s it. I’m really hoping the rest of the year continues in this fashion because it will be very entertaining.
AO was the fastest hard court slam in history designed for Federer.
Dubai was normal modern day medium fast.
That was the difference between tournament title and first round exit. That and a guy on any given day and his 15 minutes of fame.
Little more.
LOL, if you want to talk about doctoring slam surfaces. They got rid of Rebound Ace so Novak, Andy, & Rafa wouldn’t keep on getting knocked out in the early rounds.
This was just an unbelievable choke by Roger.