By Chris Oddo | Sunday, June 1, 2014

 

Ernests Gulbis sent more tremors through Roland Garros on Sunday as he stunned Roger Federer in five sets to reach the French Open quarterfinals.

Photo Source: Peter Staples

Ernests Gulbis denied Roger Federer a milestone victory on Sunday in Paris, knocking off the 17-time Grand Slam champion in five sets, 6-7(5) 7-6(3) 6-2 4-6 6-3.

More: Gulbis Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot

The victory marks the Latvian’s first Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance since 2008, when he also reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros as a 19-year-old.

The turning point of the match came early, as Gulbis rallied from 15-40 down with Federer serving for the second set with a 5-3 lead. Gulbis would consolidate to draw even in the set and eventually take it in the tiebreaker.

"I was simply running out of luck. I could not conclude the set," Federer said. "I made a mistake, a small mistake... I had my chances. I was leading 5-4. I was still in the tiebreak. I had some opportunities. And that's where I have regrets obviously."

With the wind at his back Gulbis raced through the third set before Federer responded in the fourth to force a decider.

Though Federer, who was bidding for a record 42nd Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance, owned a 6-0 record in French Open fifth sets heading into today’s match, it was Gulbis who took the upper hand with a break to lead 2-0 in the fifth set.

"At the end of the fourth set it was it was just a bit like a bit of a relief to get through it after everything that had happened in those sort of 20 minutes, so who knows?" Federer said. "Maybe I lost focus for just a second."

The hard-serving Latvian didn’t give an inch down the stretch, as he finished the decider winning 14 of 15 first serve points and never facing a break point.

Gulbis struck 53 winners against 53 unforced errors on the day, while Federer’s 42 winners were outweighed by his 59 unforced errors.

Federer’s run of nine straight quarterfinals in Paris ended with the loss, and the Swiss maestro has now failed to reach the last eight at a major in three of the last four Grand Slams. Federer’s streak of 36 consecutive quarterfinals at Grand Slams was snapped last June at Wimbledon, when he lost in the second round to Sergiy Stakhovsky.

"I'm not mad, but I'm not happy, either," Federer said. "Because I missed too many opportunities. I did not play like I wanted to play. What it boils down to is I lose in five sets. I had so many opportunities."

Gulbis, who won the title last week at Nice, has now defeated seeded opponents five consecutive times at the Grand Slam level. The 25-year-old improves his 2014 record to 31-10, and he’ll face Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals.