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Federer's reign ends; Djokovic into semis

Updated: 2010-07-01 14:11

 

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Roger Federer crashed out of Wimbledon on Wednesday as 12th seed Czech Tomas Berdych clinched a stunning 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over the defending champion in the quarterfinals.

Federer has been almost untouchable at Wimbledon for the past seven years, winning the title six times and appearing in every final since 2003, but his reign was brought to an end in sensational fashion on Center Court.

Just 24 hours after five-time champion Venus Williams was ousted from the women's singles by unknown Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, it was Federer's turn to experience a humbling exit from the tournament that he has graced for so long.

Since losing in the first round to Croatia's Mario Ancic in 2002, Federer had been beaten just once at the All England Club - when Rafael Nadal outlasted him in the 2008 final.

But Berdych produced the performance of his life to earn a semifinal meeting with Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic and leave Federer to contemplate the latest in a growing line of disappointing results for the 28-year-old.

Djokovic stormed through with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Taiwan's Lu Hsun-Yen on Wednesday.

World No 3 Djokovic played almost faultless tennis to wrap up victory in an hour and 51 minutes on Court One as Lu, the conqueror of thrice Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick in the previous round, was blown away.

Djokovic's serve was functioning so well Lu did not have a single break point in the three sets, and Djokovic now looks a serious contender to add this Grand Slam to the Australian Open title he won in 2009.

"Nothing is easy these days, especially at this stage of the tournament," Djokovic said.

The 23-year-old has had less success at Wimbledon than at other Grand Slams, although he reached the semifinals here in 2007, when he was forced to retire from his clash with Nadal.

去聽寫專區一展身手

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is fluent in Korean and has a 2-year-old son.