Tsonga ousts Federer at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England -- For two superb sets Wednesday, everything looked so routine for Roger Federer, precisely the way it did for so many years at Wimbledon -- and nearly everywhere else, too.

Little comes easily for Federer now, even at the All England Club, where he's won six of his record 16 major championships. Before Wednesday, Federer was 178-0 when taking the first two sets of a Grand Slam match.

Now he's 178-1.

Facing a younger, quicker and better-serving opponent, Federer failed to make his big lead stand up and lost, 3-6, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, to 12th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in the quarterfinals. Federer leaves Wimbledon in that round for the second consecutive year, after reaching seven finals in a row from 2003-09.

Nevertheless, Federer sounded defiant in defeat, saying he played well against Tsonga and is sure he "definitely can" add to his Grand Slam collection, even though he'll turn 30 in August.

"When I was 20, I would have been crushed: 'I can't go on; I'll never get another chance to be in a quarterfinal of a Grand Slam.' But today, I know that I should probably have lots more," said Federer, who lost in the French Open final earlier this month. "I don't have that mental stress. I know what I've accomplished already. It's different when you're older and you've accomplished as much as I have."

The other favorites all won Wednesday, though not without some difficulty: No. 1 Rafael Nadal numbed his injured left foot with a painkilling injection, then beat No. 10 Mardy Fish of the United States, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4; No. 2 Novak Djokovic was a break down in the third set but reeled off seven games in a row to get past 18-year-old qualifier Bernard Tomic of Australia, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5; and No. 4 Andy Murray pulled up awkwardly after hurting his hip changing directions in the third set, but breezed past unseeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

In Friday's semifinals, Tsonga will face Djokovic, who is 46-1 in 2011, the only loss coming to Federer at the French Open. Defending champion Nadal will play Murray, who hopes to give Britain its first men's title at the All England Club in 75 years.

Although Fish thought Nadal moved well and showed no sign of injury, the 10-time major champion said: "My foot is not fine. But we are in quarterfinals of Wimbledon. Is an emergency, so I had to play."

Tsonga lost the first game he served -- and then didn't face a another break point. Most impressive, Tsonga hung in there even after falling far behind.

"I was feeling really strong because I never -- how you say that? -- panic. I was, all the time, really focused," Tsonga said. "I was not scared on big points."

Inevitably, a reporter wanted to know whether Federer felt as if this were the end of an era.

"No, I don't think so," Federer said. "Wasn't a shocker, second-round loss in straight sets, some stupid match I played. It was a great match, I think, from both sides."