Berdych Eliminates Federer in Wimbledon Quarterfinals
Six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer was defeated this morning by Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. The 12th-seeded Czech beat Federer, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday for what is certainly the biggest victory of his career. Berdych used his big serve and much improved mobility to knock off the top seed and defending champion. Berdych is now in his second straight Grand Slam semifinal, as he also advanced to the semis of the French Open.
This is the first time since 2002 that Federer has failed to reach the finals at Wimbledon. He was attempting to win the championship for a record-tying seventh Wimbledon title. Berdych will now face Novak Djokovic who easily advanced past Yen-hsun Lu in straight sets to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon for the second time.
The third-seeded Djokovic never faced a face break point as he beat, Lu 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Lu previously stunned three-time finalist Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, but couldn’t replicate that performance today.
The two other men’s semis currently in progress feature Britian’s own Andy Murray against Frenchman Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Rafael Nadal versus Robin Soderling. The two winners will play in the other mens semifinal.
The women’s semifinals are set for Thursday, with an unusual final four featuring Serena Williams and three lesser-known players. Defending and three-time Wimbledon champion Williams plays 62nd-ranked Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, while 82nd-ranked Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria will face number 21 Vera Zvonareva of Russia.
Roger Federer wasn’t the only top seed to fall today at Wimbledon as the top-seeded Williams Sisters fell in women’s doubles. They were beaten by Russians Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Zvonareva is now in both the women’s singles and doubles semifinals.
The loss ends the American pair’s hopes of winning the Grand Slam this year after victories at the Australian Open and French Open. They had won four straight Grand Slam titles and were shooting for their 13th Grand Slam title and fifth at Wimbledon.
