Punch-drunk Roger Federer admits he was so beaten up by John Millman and battered from the brutal New York heat, he wanted out of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"I was just happy that the match was over," Federer said, after falling to the unfancied Australian in one of the great Grand Slam boilovers in New York.
For one of the few times in his unparalleled 1424-match career, Federer all-but raised the white flag, as he struggled to cope with Millman's relentless counter-attacking and the crushing humidity that has turned the US Open into a survival of the fittest.
"It was very hot tonight... just one of those nights, where I guess I felt I couldn't get air," the 20-time major winner said, after relinquishing a one-set lead in his 3-6 7-5 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-3) fourth-round loss at Flushing Meadows
"There was no circulation at all. I don't know, for some reason I just struggled in the conditions tonight - it's one of the first times it's happened to me.
"Yeah, it's uncomfortable. Clearly, just keep on sweating more and more and more and more as the match goes on.
"You lose energy as it goes by, but John was able to deal with it better. He maybe comes from one of the most humid places on earth, Brisbane.
"I knew I was in for a tough one."
Gracious in defeat, Federer suspects Novak Djokovic might also be in for a tough one on Wednesday, when the 13-times major champion is next to run into Millman in the Queenslander's maiden Grand Slam quarter-final.
"I love his intensity," Federer said of Millman, his summer hitting partner in Switzerland earlier this year.
"He reminds me of David Ferrer and those other guys that I admire a lot when I see them, when I see how they train, the passion they have for the game. I love his intensity.
"He's got a positive demeanour about himself, on and off the court.
"I think he's got a great backhand that he can protect very well down the line and cross-court. When you attack there in the wrong way, he will punish you, punish you every time for it.
"Then he has options, now especially where it's a bit slower, to return in and return back.
"I think, against Novak, he just has to bring it again, try to worry Novak, hope for another hot day, maybe."
AAP
