Former world number one Roger Federer was knocked out of the French Open in the fourth round this afternoon by Ernests Gulbis, who recorded a 6-7 7-6 6-2 4-6 6-3 victory in Paris.
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Federer, winner of the title at Roland Garros in 2009, was expected to ease beyond his Latvian opponent, but even during the first set it was a tight affair.
It eventually went the way of the Swiss player, but he required a 7-5 victory in a tie-break to open up a one-set advantage.
However, Gulbis, who is currently ranked 17 in the world, responded positively to that deficit as he went on to level up proceedings with a tie-break triumph of his own. The 25-year-old then backed that up by breaking Federer on two separate occasions to win the third set, leaving him on the verge of a place in quarter-finals.
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Federer rallied, though, and ensured that a fifth and deciding set would be required to determine a victor when he won the fourth set 6-4, despite a late fightback from Gulbis.
Nevertheless, that was followed by a positive start to the final rubber by Gulbis, who broke at the first time of asking to open up a two-game margin, before holding his own serve to stretch that lead to three games.
Federer sped through his remaining service games, but he was unable to make any inroads on the Gulbis serve as he held on to book his place in the last eight.
He will now face Tomas Berdych for a slot in the semi-finals of the tournament.
Liam Apicella
