Abby Brammell

By Mike Dickson in Paris

Farewell: Federer waves goodbye to Paris


The severing of one of the most extraordinary sequences in modern sport deserved more than a halfempty Roland Garros to witness it here last night.

A final sledgehammer serve from Robin Soderling saw Roger Federer poke his return beyond the baseline, and with that came to an end the incredible record of him having reached 23 successive Grand Slam semi-finals, going all the way back to the 2004 French Open.

Federer said: ‘All good things come to an end, it was a great streak and I was very proud of it. Now I’ll just have to get a quarter-final streak going. The conditions were probably in his favour today but it was the same for both of us.’

It took the Swedish giant slayer to halt him at the last-eight stage, winning 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 on another damp, rain-interrupted Parisian evening that had already exhausted the patience of many spectators.

More is the pity, because Federer deserved a rousing salute to mark the finish of a run which has been testament to his staggering consistency in an age of phenomenal depth in men’s tennis.

Painfully, if Rafael Nadal wins the title Federer will lose the No 1 ranking one week short of breaking Pete Sampras’s record of 286 weeks in the position.

World No 7 Soderling giveth and he taketh away. A year ago he did the Swiss an almighty favour by taking out Nadal in the fourth round and paving the way for him to win the one major tournament that had eluded him.

This time the sodden conditions were very much in his favour, putting to its best use his enormous power to hit the heavy balls through the court and break down the defences of a more artistic opponent.


Swede dreams: Soderling smashes one back to Federer


Towards the end Federer tried to reply in kind — and it did not suit him.

Now he has a long-forgotten taste of what it feels like to depart a Grand Slam with five days still left. In the semi-finals, Soderling will face Andy Murray’s conqueror, Tomas Berdych, who emphasised the rich form he is in by battering Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 to make it five matches in which he has not dropped a set.

Will this have any effect on Federer’s chances at Wimbledon?
Almost certainly not, and, while his aura might be ever so slightly reduced, he should still be in prime shape to continue his pursuit of Sampras’s record of seven All England Club titles.

This was a rematch of last year’s French final, when Soderling was slightly overawed.

He has improved since, and his self-belief was such that he was able to forget the brutal statistic of having lost to the Swiss in all 12 of their previous meetings.


On the back foot: Federer struggles to make a return during his quarter-final defeat by Robin Soderling


Given the foul weather, it was surprising that they left the court only once, at 5-5 in the third set, by which time Federer was already struggling to contain the huge Soderling forehand with its enormous wind-up.

He was promptly broken after the restart to lose the set, the rain showers slowing the court all the time. After a brief stoppage at 3-3 Federer saved break points, but could not stem the flow two games later when the decisive break came with a missed backhand.

In today’s men’s quarter-finals Nadal will face fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro while Novak Djokovic will tackle Austrian left-hander Jurgen Melzer. Italy will have their first women’s Grand Slam semi-finalist in 56 years after Francesca Schiavone, 29, defeated No 3 seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-3.

She will play Elena Dementieva, who overcame fellow Russian Nadia Petrova 2-6, 6-2, 6-0.


source: dailymail