Tennis world fears the end after Roger Federer's straight sets loss at Wimbledon

Updated Jul. 7, 2021 7:11 p.m. ET

Roger Federer did not look like himself on Wednesday. And it wasn't because he lost — it was because he didn't seem too upset when he did.

Federer is the greatest male champion that the prestigious Wimbledon tournament has ever seen. His eight championship wins at the All England Club are the most ever in gentlemen's singles and only one behind Martina Navratilova's all-time record of nine Wimbledon wins.

But after Federer's chance to tie Navratilova's record came crashing down Wednesday, via a shocking 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-0 loss to Hubert Hurkacz, Federer seemed oddly content.

Federer smiled, congratulated Hurkacz – who admitted before the match that Federer is his idol – waved to the applauding fans and walked off the court.

Now, the tennis world is coming to the grim realization that Federer's best days are officially behind him and, furthermore, that his farewell wave Wednesday might have been the last of his Wimbledon career.

Federer's career, to this point, has been magnificent, highlighted by his runs at Wimbledon. He won the tournament five consecutive years, from 2003 to 2007, and again in 2009, 2012 and 2017. He has an open era-record 105 Wimbledon wins and is 8-4 in the championship round.

Wimbledon was not held last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Federer made the final in 2019, when he led 8-7 and had two match points on his serve against Novak Djokovic before Djokovic saved both, broke Federer and went on to win the decisive set 13-12.

Federer's start to the 2021 edition of Wimbledon was serviceable by his standards. He won his first-round matchup in five sets before winning in straight sets in the second round, four sets in the third and straight sets in the fourth.

But on Wednesday, he had no such luck, punctuated by his 6-0 loss in the third set.

After Federer's loss, the tone in the stadium was bittersweet. The fans were thankful to have seen the tennis legend healthy and playing, giving him a rousing standing ovation, but the underlying tone was that Wednesday could have been his last match at Wimbledon.

In the post-match media conference, Federer said it is the fans who have kept him going this long, as he's set to turn 40 in August.

"Crowds are amazing, and the ovation was fantastic. Look, I love it. That's why I play and why I still play now. … I'm super grateful for all the support I've gotten here over the years, and today, again, it was special."

When asked if this might be his last Wimbledon, he was blunt in saying that he is unsure what the future holds.

"I don't know. I really don't know," he said. "I gotta regroup. My goal was always, for the last year and more, to try to play another Wimbledon. The initial goal was to play last year. … I was able to make it this year, which I'm really happy about. With everything that comes after Wimbledon, we were always gonna sit down and talk about it.

"Of course I would like to play it again, but at my age, you're just never sure what's around the corner."

Here's how the internet affectionately responded to Federer's defeat:

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Hubert Hurkacz