Ivanovic, Safarova advance to French Open last four
PARIS: Roger Federer was knocked out of the French Open at the quarterfinal stage on Tuesday, falling in three sets to fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka, the eighth seed, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
Federer, the second seed and 2009 champion at Roland Garros, had only ever lost twice in 18 previous meetings with his compatriot but was well beaten on a windy Court Suzanne Lenglen.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion proved incapable of breaking his opponent’s serve at all over the course of a match that lasted two hours and nine minutes.
Remarkably, it was just the third time in his career he had failed to break an opponent’s serve in a Grand Slam match — the last came against Max Mirnyi at the US Open in 2002 when he was aged just 21 and had not yet won a major.
It is a further sign of the decline of the 33-year-old, who was also beaten in the third round of the Australian Open earlier this year by Italy’s Andreas Seppi.
Federer’s last Grand Slam title was almost three years ago when he captured his seventh Wimbledon title in 2012.
In contrast, Wawrinka broke decisively in the first set and then twice more in the second. There were no breaks in a far tighter third set, but Wawrinka won it on his second match point in the tiebreak.
Through to his first ever French Open semifinal, Wawrinka will face the winner of Tuesday’s other quarterfinal between Japan’s fifth seed Kei Nishikori and home hope Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 14th seed.
“Today was my best match on clay and it’s an incredible moment for me. The conditions were difficult with a lot of wind but I believed in my game and it was a really incredible match from me,” said Wawrinka, who was the junior champion at Roland Garros in 2003.
The 2014 Australian Open champion’s run in Paris comes after he beat Rafael Nadal at the Rome Masters recently before losing to Federer in the semifinals.
“I’m playing good tennis and I’m really pleased to be in Paris semifinals for first time,” he added after defeating his more illustrious compatriot at a Grand Slam for the first time.
Meanwhile, Ana Ivan-ovic and Lucie Safarova will clash for a place in the French Open final after comfortably defeating younger rivals at a windswept Roland Garros on Tuesday.
Ivanovic reached her first Grand Slam semi-final in seven years when she beat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-2 while Safarova booked a place in the French Open last four for the first time by seeing off Garbine Muguruza 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
Serb seventh seed Ivanovic, 27, last made the semi-finals of a major on her way to her only Grand Slam title in Paris in 2008.
It will be her fifth last-four appearance at a major following similar runs to the 2007 and 2008 semi-finals at Roland Garros, Wimbledon in 2007 and the Australian Open in 2008.
“I don’t know whether to feel happy or old,” said Ivanovic, who has now won all her seven meetings against Svitolina, seven years her junior.
“It was very tough to play today. The wind was really strong and the ball was bouncing all over the place so I just needed to stay calm and use my feet more.”
Ivanovic and Svitolina, who was bidding to become the first Ukrainian woman to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam, exchanged breaks in the second and third games of the opening set. But the vastly more experienced Serb, watched from the stands by German World Cup-winning boyfriend Bastian Schweinsteiger, broke again for 3-1 to lay the foundation for clinching the first set.
Breaks in the first and seventh games of the second helped Ivanovic into a comfortable 5-2 lead and despite double-faulting on her second match point, she sealed victory on her third with a sweeping forehand winner.
Ivanovic was rewarded for her positive approach on Court Philippe Chatrier, her 37 winners to just eight for Svitolina telling its own tale. Out on Court Suzanne Lenglen, Czech left-hander Safarova, 28, followed-up her fourth-round defeat of world number two and defending champion Maria Sharapova with a straight sets beating of 21-year-old Muguruza.
Safarova will be playing in her second career Grand Slam semi-final after making the last four at Wimbledon in 2014.
“It’s amazing to be in the semi-finals,” said Safarova who will hope to go on and become the first left-hander to win the title in Paris since Monica Seles in 1992.
“It’s hard to explain my feelings….wow! I am excited and ready to face Ana.”
Safarova holds a 5-3 career lead over Ivanovic with a win apiece on clay. (Agencies)