WIMBLEDON, England — Roger Federer covered his face with both hands, no doubt wishing he were doing anything at that moment other than dissecting his latest earlier-than-expected Grand Slam exit.
This one came at Wimbledon, no less — the tournament he loves more than any other, that he ruled for so long.
After all the victories, all the championships, all the records, Federer now must deal with a new streak: The owner of 16 major titles, the man widely considered the best player in tennis history, has lost two consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals in the span of a month, both against opponents who have yet to win a single such trophy.
Federer arrived at the All England Club aiming to reach the final for the eighth year in a row and win a record-tying seventh title. Instead, he leaves before the semifinals, beaten 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 Wednesday by No. 12 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.
On June 1, Federer lost in the French Open quarterfinals as the defending champion there too, putting an end to his unprecedented 23 consecutive appearances in major semifinals.
“I can’t wait for Paris and Wimbledon to come around next year again, that’s for sure, because they’ve been frustrating tournaments for me, even though it wasn’t too bad,” Federer said. “Quarters is a decent result.”
Berdych never had been past the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam until Paris. If he’s going to reach his first major final, he’ll need to eliminate No. 3 Novak Djokovic on Friday.
Djokovic advanced to his second Wimbledon semifinal with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over 82nd-ranked Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan.
Also Friday, Rafael Nadal — ranked No. 1, seeded No. 2 — will meet Andy Murray, trying to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936. Britain hasn’t even put a man in the final since 1938.
“A huge, huge wait for us,” Murray said after defeating No. 10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-2.
Nadal’s knees prevented him from defending his Wimbledon title last year, and his right one flared up earlier in this tournament.
He looked fine Wednesday, beating No. 6 Robin Soderling 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-1 in a rematch of the French Open final, which was won by Nadal.
