Tennis: Giant-killer Stakhovsky blames Federer effect for loss

Sergiy Stakhovsky admitted he had struggled to come to terms with his epic victory over Roger Federer as the Ukrainian’s Wimbledon fairytale came to an abrupt end with a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 defeat against Austria’s Jurgen Melzer in the third round on Friday.

Stakhovsky had caused one of the biggest upsets in the history of the All England Club when the world number 116 defeated reigning champion Federer on Centre Court on Wednesday.

It was Federer’s earliest exit from a Grand Slam for a decade and ended the seven-time Wimbledon champion’s incredible run of 36 successive quarter-final appearances at the majors.

But Stakhovsky, 27, was brought back down to earth just 48 hours later in the less glamourous surroundings of Court Three.

Unlike Federer, world number 37 Melzer was able to subdue Stakhovsky’s serve and volley tactics and will play Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz for a place in the quarter-finals.

“I was possibly not prepared mentally because everybody expects you to play better after you beat Roger,” said Stakhovsky.

“The only thing you don’t want to happen is to lose next round. It’s actually what happened because you’re trying to avoid it.

“It’s just a mental thing. I was not ready for such a turnover. Next time if I’m able to produce such a result, beating a top player at a Grand Slam or any other event, I’ll be more prepared and I will know how to behave myself.

“Today was just a new experience for me which I was not prepared for.”

Stakhovsky might have had an inkling it wasn’t going to be his day when he suffered an injury scare midway through the first set, slipping as he raced to the net and twisting his right ankle into an awkward position as he struggled to stay upright.

The Ukrainian called for a medical timeout and had the ankle heavily strapped before continuing, but Melzer called the shots for the rest of the match as Stakhovsky crashed out.

“It’s not about reliving the magic (of the Federer match). My serve was slower today than against Roger. That makes a difference on grass,” he added.

“But it was quite hard for me because yesterday was a busy day. Everyone wanted to chat. Everybody wanted a piece of me.

“It just takes some time and energy off. I was trying to get out of Wimbledon as soon as I could, but I gave a lot of interviews that day.”

While Stakhovsky was frustrated at his failure to build on the Federer win, he insisted he wouldn’t change anything about the experience.

“Nobody is gonna take it away from me. If someone would ask me, Would you rather beat Roger and lose in next round, I would always take it, obviously,” he said.

“I think all the people I have in my phone rang up or sent me a text. It was nice.

“Even the people I thought didn’t have my number sent me a text.

“It was really nice to have that moment in my career. It was worth playing tennis for such a moment.

“I’m just a little disappointed that I got so blinded by the game I produced with Roger that I kept going with the same game I played against Jurgen, which was just not right.

“If I would be just a bit more smarter, I could have been a winner.”