Federer out, Donskoy has the last laugh

Dubai: Russian qualifier Evgeny Donskoy pulled off his biggest career win with a stunning 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5) upset of former world number one and seven-time champion Roger Federer to complete the quarter-final line-up for the Dubai Tennis Championships, late on Wednesday.

Fresh from his record 18th Grand Slam in Melbourne at the end of January, Federer started off well, but just couldn’t sustain his momentum as the 26-year-old Donskoy gleefully walked away with perhaps his biggest win to cut off Federer’s 8-0 winning record for the season.

Though starting off strongly, at times Federer hardly looked to be the player with 18 Grand Slam titles to his credit as the Russian took his chances with some impeccable shot-making to guarantee a quarter-final meeting with Frenchman Lucas Pouille.