Roger Federer has defied the years and tennis logic for so long now that it was jarring to see him looking his age for a change on Monday night.
He was late to the running forehand; shaky on his serve; brittle under pressure and quick, far too quick, to opt for the drop shot instead of the cut and thrust of an extended rally.
There was even a missed smash from close range into the net.
Federer, winner of 20 Grand Slam singles titles and unquestionably the greatest men’s player of the Open era, found himself in all kinds of awkward and uncustomary positions in this fourth-round U.