PARIS — A point from losing the first set of his French Open quarterfinal, Roger Federer shanked a routine forehand, sending the ball 10 feet beyond the opposite baseline.
The Court Philippe Chatrier crowd roared with approval, then loudly chanted the last name of Federer’s opponent, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
That shot was a clear indication that Federer was hardly Federesque on this day. There were plenty of others: He argued with the chair umpire about a call. He dumped overhead smashes into the net. And in a truly rare ungraceful moment, he failed to put a racket to — or get out of the way of — a backhand flip by a sliding Tsonga, instead getting hit on the back.
All in all, Federer looked lost out there Tuesday against the sixth-seeded Tsonga, who pounded his way to a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 victory over the 17-time Grand Slam champion in a 1-hour, 51-minute mismatch remarkable for its lopsidedness and brevity.
“I struggled a little bit everywhere. To be honest, personally, I’m pretty sad about the match and the way I played. But that’s how it goes. I tried to figure things out, but it was difficult. And Jo does a good job keeping the pressure on,” Federer said.
“He was just … better in all areas,” continued Federer, whose lone French Open title, in 2009, allowed him to equal Pete Sampras’ then-record of 14 major championships. “He returned better than I did. Served better than I did. I struggled to find my rhythm.”
While Federer quickly faced a big deficit and never recovered, Serena Williams was able to get out of a much smaller spot of trouble.
Like Federer, Williams is 31. Like Federer, she’s won more than a dozen Grand Slam titles, 15. And like Federer, only one of those trophies came at Roland Garros, in 2002. Trailing in the third set against 2009 French Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, the No. 1-seeded Williams won five games in a row en route to a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory that put her back in the semifinals at Paris after a decade’s absence.
Williams had lost four consecutive quarterfinals at Roland Garros — in 2004, 2007, 2009 (to Kuznetsova), 2010 — and so when she was serving while down 2-0 in the final set Tuesday, “I thought, you know, ‘Can’t go out like this again.’ “
That was a pivotal game, featuring 16 points and three break chances for Kuznetsova, who flubbed the last with a drop shot that floated wide. After finally holding in that game with an inside-out forehand winner as Kuznetsova stumbled to the clay, Williams broke right away with a backhand winner that had her yelling and shaking her fist.
“Unbelievable competitor,” Kuznetsova said. “She turns on (her) game when she needs it.”
Failing to reach semis
Grand Slam tournaments in which Roger Federer failed to advance to the semifinals since he won his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003:
2013 French Open — Quarterfinals: Lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3.
2012 U.S. Open — Quarterfinals: Lost to Tomas Berdych, 7-6 (1), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
2011 Wimbledon — Quarterfinals:
Lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 3-6, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
2010 Wimbledon — Quarterfinals: Lost to Tomas Berdych, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
2010 French Open — Quarterfinals: Lost to Robin Soderling, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.
2004 French Open — Third round:
Lost to Gustavo Kuerten, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
2003 U.S. Open — Fourth round: Lost to David Nalbandian, 3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-3.
