Roger Federer began 2017 outside of the ATP world rankings for the first time since 2001, with Kevin Mitchell writing in the Guardian in late 2016:  "His chances of adding to his 17 majors are slim."

The Swiss has proven this prediction totally wrong, having already won Wimbledon and the Australian Open this year.

However, last night Federer crashed out of the US Open in a stunning match against Juan Martin del Porto, who beat the current world number three in a 4 set game: 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.

Del Porto said after his victory: “I think I played my best match of the tournament and I did everything well, I served really good. I hit my forehand as hard as I can and I think we played a great match and I deserved to win in the end."

Federer, following his defeat, spoke of his desire for a rest before he plays in the Laver Cup in Prague, which starts in 15 days.

"I need a rest. I have a rest now, so that’s good, That’s actually the thing when I walked off the court, I was, like; Finally, I can rest. Because I’m tired. I put a lot into it. I was not sure I could play, to be honest, so I’m happy I get a rest now."

The defeat means that Federer will miss out on a first meeting with Rafa Nadal at Flushing Meadows in New York, where he could have reclaimed the number one spot.

Federer can still reclaim number one from Nadal during the rest of the season, but following his defeat, Federer has said that he isn't willing to change his schedule to chase the number one spot.

"Now I have Laver Cup, Shanghai, Basel, Paris, and London. That’s my schedule, and it won’t change.

"I hope I’m fully recovered and 100% fit when the Laver Cup comes around. When that’s over, I hope I’m going to arrive really early in Shanghai to really get ready and make it a priority for me to win that tournament.

"So that’s the schedule there.”