Roger Federer sent crashing out of Wimbledon by Sergiy Stakhovsky

A day of slips and stumbles was crowned in the gloaming by the biggest upset of them all. Roger Federer is out of Wimbledon after a 7-6, 6-7, 5-7, 6-7 second-round defeat by Sergiy Stakhovsky, a 27-year-old Ukrainian ranked No116 in the world. As shocks go, it is arguably the greatest in the history of men's grand slam tennis. Federer may be 31, but he remains an all-time great who has yet to dip below the horizon of his peak, and yet here he was at times overwhelmed by Stakhovsky's aggression at the net and a relentlessly accurate serve.

By 8.15pm the men's champion was out of Wimbledon, bringing to an end a run of 36 consecutive grand slam quarter-finals. It was a result that really did come from nowhere. Stakhovsky lost the first set on a tie-break but an hour and a half later he was storming his way through the fourth, still charging to the net on gangly, coltish legs that seemed never to tire. At the end he fell on his back on the grass, a final collapse to end the day as Centre Court rose to applaud not just one of the great shocks, but a brilliant, and brilliantly unexpected performance.

Afterwards Stakhovsky could scarcely stop himself beaming. "Beating Roger on this court, where he is a legend, is a special place in my career," he said. "When you come here Roger Federer is on the cover of the Wimbledon book. You're playing the guy and you're playing the legend which is following him, who won it seven times. You're playing two of them. When you're beating one you still have the other who is pressing you. You keep thinking am I really beating him?"

It had all started so well for Federer, who emerged to the usual champion's reception, not just applause and cheers, but swoons and sighs as this familiar old fuzzy-ball genius ambled out in his tailored tunic to face a player who had never before beaten a top-10 opponent. Stakhovsky is a fidgety, beanpole-ish figure, dissolving at times into a jumble of limbs mid-point, but there was a freedom to his shot-making as he mixed lobs and drives and volleys on his way to levelling the first set at 6-6. If there was a creakiness in Federer's game, even as he edged towards a first set tie-break he would take with a languid ace, the match still felt like turning into another reassuringly familial return in front of a gurglingly devoted crowd.

It is a peculiar sense of awe that Wimbledon feels for Federer, a covetous, cooing kind of affection that still seems to have about it an aspirational feel, a public declaration of high spec, premium-badged authenticity. At times in the opening two sets there was even a sense of a champion expecting rather too stately a ride in front of his home-from-home crowd, and surprised by an energetic and aggressive opponent who refused to wilt.

Serving with great accuracy, Stakhovsky took the second set to another tie-break, raising his levels just as Federer seemed to waver, and closing out the set 7-5. Still the Ukrainian pressed, reaching 0-30 at 3-3 in the third set and drawing a pair of brilliant Federer-in-extremis forehands to save the game. And still the expected surge failed to materialise. At 1-1 and 5-5 Stakhovsky continued to produce precise serve and volley tennis, his stamina unfailing, his touch secure. Federer saved the first of two break points with an ace, but could not save the second and Stakhovsky had his first break of serve in the 26th game. Two minutes later he had the third set and was punching the air, eyes wide, starting to glimpse the outline of a defining high point in his 10-year career.

The end came in a rush. After three hours, with the score 6-6 in the fourth set, the match had dissolved into a simple test of nerve and momentum. At 2-1 up in the tie-break, Stakhovsky produced another stellar moment, a backhand winner that left Federer watching the ball fizz past. Moments later Federer netted another backhand and it was double match-point for a player who had never been past the second round of Wimbledon. Federer saved the first with a laser-guided pass. He could not save the second.

Stakhovsky waved with a sense of disbelief to all four corners, then retired beneath his towel to absorb the shock of his own achievement as the greatest player in men's tennis history left the court to a standing ovation. As Stakhovsky said afterwards, with a smile: "I can tell my grandkids that I kicked the butt of Roger Federer"