Stakhovsky downs Federer in second round at Wimbledon
Ranked outside the top 100, Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky evicts Federer from Wimbledon
No matter where Sergiy Stakhovsky looks when he walks around the leafy grounds of the All England Club, he cannot escape the image of a beaming Roger Federer holding aloft the pineapple-topped gold Challenge Cup.
It is on the results board, on the official Wimbledon book, on the roll of honour plaque, on official merchandise - it is basically everywhere.
On Wednesday, however, the man who hails from Kiev and is ranked outside the world's top 100, wiped the smile off Federer's face after evicting the Swiss from his own back yard.
Since winning the first of his record 17 grand slam titles on Centre Court in 2003, no one had managed to eject the grass-court master from Wimbledon before the quarter-finals.
This time, the world finally met a man who did. "When you come here, on the cover of the Wimbledon book … is Roger Federer. Our sport is Roger Federer," Stakhovsky said after becoming the latest giant killer to light up Wimbledon with a 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) victory.
"He's the greatest player we had. He's the biggest name we had and we still have. You're playing the guy and then you're playing his legend, which is following him because he won it seven times. He's holding all possible career records here.