Tsonga stuns Federer to reach French Open semis
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Roger Federer of Switzerland leaves the court after losing his men's singles quarter-final match to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, June 4, 2013. [Photo/China Daily] |
A shot fired straight into Roger Federer's armpit demonstrated just how badly Jo-Wilfried Tsonga wanted to reach the French Open semifinals.
Federer was left wide-eyed and wincing when the ball bounced off his sweat-soaked shirt. But that momentary pain was nothing compared to the mental anguish the Swiss was feeling two games later as reality hit and he realized he would not be in the semifinals of the French Open for only the second time in nine years.
Twelve months after blowing four match points at the same stage against Novak Djokovic, Tsonga produced a rip-roaring performance to beat the Swiss 7-5 6-3 6-3. As wild celebrations erupted among the packed house on Philippe Chatrier Court after Tsonga reached the last four here for the first time, Federer made a rapid exit from the arena where he had held aloft the Musketeers' Cup in 2009.
"This is obviously a crushing loss," Federer told reporters following a quick shirt change. "I struggled a little bit everywhere. Personally, I'm pretty sad about the match and the way I played.
"Jo-Willy played great today. He was better than me in all areas today. He returned better than I did, served better than I did. I struggled to find my rhythm.
"I'm just disappointed I couldn't put in a better match today."
Federer did not even have to look at the statistics to know just how badly his day had gone.
For the record he produced zero aces, three double faults - including one on break point - 34 unforced errors and won only 58 percent of points on his first serve.
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