Roger Federer Falls at French Open to Stan Wawrinka
Stan Wawrinka did not surrender his serve once in his 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (4) quarterfinal victory over Federer. It was the first time in 292 Grand Slam matches that Federer failed to break his opponent's serve. The previous occasion was in a loss to Max Mirnyi at the 2002 U.S. Open, before Federer had won his first Grand Slam title.
Roger Federer's bid for a second French Open title was ended by a man who proved unbreakable.
Stan Wawrinka did not surrender his serve once in his 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (4) quarterfinal victory over Federer. It was the first time in 292 Grand Slam matches that Federer failed to break his opponent's serve. The previous occasion was in a loss to Max Mirnyi at the 2002 U.S. Open, before Federer had won his first Grand Slam title.
Federer, seeded second in Paris, has never had his best results on the slow clay of Roland Garros, having won only one of his 17 Grand Slam titles here, in 2009.
Wawrinka, a friend of Federer's who partnered with him to win the Davis Cup for Switzerland in November, awaits the winner of the quarterfinal between Kei Nishikori and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Wawrinka, the No. 8 seed, reached the French Open semifinals for the first time in 12 tries. He lost in the first round in Paris last year after arriving as the reigning Australian Open champion.
"It's an incredible feeling for me," Wawrinka said in an on-court interview.
Federer had won 16 of their previous 18 matches, including all four in Grand Slam tournaments.