Kevin Anderson became only the third man to come from two sets down to beat Roger Federer in a Grand Slam tournament as he pulled off an epic comeback to knock out the defending champion in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
Anderson achieved something only Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Novak Djokovic had done before as he fought back to prevail, 2-6, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 6-4, 13-11, in a thriller that lasted four hours and 13 minutes on No.1 Court.
Federer had not dropped a set in his serene run through to the last eight at the All England Club, and the defending champion appeared poised for a relatively routine win when he went match point up in the third set.
But the big-serving and obdurate Anderson was undaunted by the situation, staying alive before turning the tide in his favor, preventing Federer from breaking his own record for consecutive sets won at SW19.
Neither player's defenses looked penetrable in a tense and absorbing fifth and for the most part there was little sign of the stalemate ending.
However, it was Federer who was stunningly the first to falter and Anderson took advantage to book a semifinal clash with either John Isner or Milos Raonic.
Despite winning three tiebreaks against Gael Monfils last time out, Anderson was second best in the shoot-out. A flourishing Federer backhand put him 4-2 up before a similarly impressive forehand gave him three set points, taking the third following a pair of uncharacteristic errors.
Anderson survived match point and then broke with a backhand down the line, going on to take the match to a fourth as Federer spurned three break points, an ace ending his run of 34 consecutive sets at Wimbledon.
Federer was unable to snatch an unexpected chance from 40-0 down as Anderson's resilience again came to the fore in the eighth game, and that proved his last opening as he was ultimately worn down.
A double fault gave Anderson a break point, Federer then firing into the net, and his hopes of a record-extending ninth Wimbledon title were ended as he was unable to return a huge serve down the middle.
