2 Jun 2010

Federer out of French Open

6:00 am on 2 June 2010

Defending champion Roger Federer has been beaten in the quarter-finals at the French Open, losing in 4 sets to Sweden's Robin Soderling in a rain-interrupted match.

The world number one crumbled in the face of a ferocious onslaught as Soderling, beaten by Federer in last year's final, claimed a first career win against the 16-times grand slam champion at the 13th attempt.

Federer looked comfortable when he won the first set but the match then began to slip away from him.

Returning from a rain delay at 5-5 in the third set, the Swiss immediately lost his serve and Soderling moved into a two sets to one lead.

The Swede broke serve twice in the decider and never faltered as he clinched victory on his first match point when Federer hit a forehand long.

5th seed Soderling will now play 15th seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in the semi-finals after he beat 11th seed Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in straight sets.