Gulbis stuns Federer in 4th round
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ROGER Federer’s streak of nine consecutive quarterfinals at the French Open ended yesterday with a 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 2-6, 6-4, 3-6 fourth-round loss to 18th-seeded Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.
It was 17-time grand slam champion Federer’s earliest exit at Roland Garros since 2004, when he was beaten in the third round by three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil.
After that, though, Federer made at least the quarterfinals at a record 36 consecutive grand slam tournaments, a streak that ended with a second-round loss at Wimbledon last year.
Now the 32-year-old has bowed out before the quarterfinals at three of the last four majors, including a fourth-round loss at the US Open in September.
“I think it was the biggest, probably, win of my career,” said Gulbis, who most certainly could have dispensed with the word “probably”.
Addressing the spectators during an on-court interview, he said: “I’m sorry I had to win. I know all of you like Roger.”
The fourth-seeded Federer’s record haul of major titles includes the 2009 French Open, and he was loudly serenaded and supported by the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd with singsong chants of his first name. But he was hardly at his best yesterday, making a whopping 59 unforced errors and getting broken seven times, including twice while serving for a set.
The result was not as monumental of a shocker as it would have been a few years ago, given that Federer is getting older and he’s no longer as impervious as he once was. Still, it fit with the topsy-turvy nature of the 2014 French Open, which saw both reigning Australian Open singles champions, No. 3 Stan Wawrinka and No. 2 Li Na, lose in the first round. No. 1 Serena Williams left in the second round.
Next for Gulbis will be a match against No. 6 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, who eliminated No. 10 John Isner of the United States 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Andy Murray survived a cliffhanger against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, returning to court yesterday to win 12-10 in the deciding set after their third-round match had been stopped by bad light at 7-7 in the fifth the previous evening.
French hopes took a knock as 12th-seeded Richard Gasquet failed to stage a comeback against Spain’s Fernando Verdasco in another third-round match held over from Saturday, losing 3-6, 2-6, 3-6.
Briton Murray set up a fourth-round clash with Verdasco, after holding his nerve in a high-quality finale to his clash with Kohlschreiber on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Kohlschreiber served to stay in the match six times but finally relented as Murray, who had led by two sets to one and 4-2 on Saturday, clinched victory on his second match point with a blistering backhand return.
The seventh seed’s 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 12-10 win means he faces left-hander Verdasco, the man he beat in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year from two sets down.
Earlier, Eugenie Bouchard’s meteoric rise continued when the baby-faced Canadian demolished Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-2 to claim a quarterfinal spot.
The 18th seed, who reached the Australian Open semifinal this year, blazed away with 30 winners in just 52 minutes.
Bouchard’s pace and variety of shots was too much to handle for the higher-seeded Kerber, who had reached the last eight at Roland Garros in 2012.
The German was caught snoozing early on and went 0-5 down, never recovering as Bouchard set up a meeting with 14th seed Carla Suarez Navarro after the Spaniard ended the run of up-and-coming Croatian Ajla Tomljanovic with a 6-3, 6-3 win.
“I feel like since the beginning of the year I have been improving my game, since Australia I’m at a different level from there,” said Bouchard, 20, who claimed her first WTA title the previous week in Nuremberg. “I have been feeling that way in practice and in matches recently. Even if it’s not always there, I know that I can really play at a good level.”
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