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The world number one was bludgeoned into submission by the Swedish sledge-hammer of Robin Soderling which also accounted for four-time champion Rafael Nadal’s first Roland Garros career loss a year ago.
Federer’s shock 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 defeat, which ended his one-year reign as French Open champion, also brought to an end his record, six-year run of 23 successive Grand Slam semi-finals appearances.
But the great Swiss refuses to dwell on the implications of the defeat which could also see him relinquish the world number one spot to Nadal should the Spaniard clinch a fifth Paris crown on Sunday.
Federer believes Tuesday’s outcome may have been different if the tie was played out beneath bright sunshine rather than the damp, chilly murkiness which has shrouded most days at Roland Garros.
“You can’t really practice with these kind of conditions,” said the 16-time Grand Slam title winner whose rhythm against Soderling was further unsettled by a 75-minute rain interruption.
“You just take them the way they come. That’s why it’s disappointing. And honestly, I don’t look too deep into why I lost today.
“For me, it’s very clear, very quickly. That’s why I think I can move away from this rather fast and concentrate on the grass season coming up.”
The quarter-final loss meant the end of Federer’s record of 12 wins in 12 meetings with the Soderling and, should Nadal triumph on Sunday, an end to his chances of equalling Pete Sampras’s mark of 286 weeks as world number one.
“It was a great run. It started here when I lost to Kuerten back in ‘04. If then I could have signed for all those semis in a row, I would have done it right away,” added the 28-year-old.
“I’ve made incredible progress in terms of my play at the highest of level to be able to always come back and play semis after semis after semis in Slams and give myself chances to win.”
Federer also insisted his European claycourt swing had been badly affected by the weather with the damp, heavy conditions here virtually identical to those he endured in early losses in Estoril and Rome in April.
His lack of serving strength also played a part in his defeat.
“I’m not blaming the conditions, but I think they were in his favour towards the end,” explained Federer.
“These were serious, tough conditions. If you serve 225kmh, 230, you can still hit through the court on the serve.
“I may be lacking those 5 to 10ks extra on the serve to hit through a guy, but that’s the way conditions are. I can’t complain, because it was the same for both of us.
“But of course I’m disappointed to have lost three matches in the rain on clay this season - in Estoril, in Rome, and now here again. So I just couldn’t come up with the plays when I had to today.”
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