Swiss Roger Federer has failed to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open for the first time since 2004 following his five-set defeat by Latvia's Ernests Gulbis in the fourth round on Sunday.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion led by a set and a break, but went down 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 on Court Philippe Chatrier in a match which lasted 3 hr 42 mins, instead of going into a record 42nd major quarter-final.
According to the BBC, 18th-seed Gulbis, who will next meet Czech Tomas Berdych in the last eight, gave a typically unpredictable performance, big serving and brilliant shot-making interspersed with racquet smashing and verbal exchanges with spectators.
The Swiss looked in control when he served for a two-set lead, but he inexplicably failed to put away a smash on set point, and the afternoon took a very different turn, the report added.
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