Tennis:Defending champion Roger Federer suffered a stunning quarter-final exit at the French Open today when he lost 3-6 6-3 7-5 6-4 to Sweden's Robin Soderling in a rain-interrupted match on Chatrier court.
The world number one crumbled in the face of a ferocious onslaught as Soderling, beaten by Federer in last year's final, claimed a first career win against the 16-times grand slam champion at the 13th attempt.
Federer looked comfortable when he won the first set but the match then began to slip away from him. Returning from a rain delay at 5-5 in the third set, the Swiss immediately lost his serve and Soderling moved into a two sets to one lead.
The Swede broke serve twice in the decider and never faltered as he clinched victory on his first match point when Federer hit a forehand long.
Czech Tomas Berdych bulldozed his way past Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 6-1 6-2 to reach his first grand slam semi-final.
The 24-year-old, seeded 15th, fired down 36 winners as he romped past the 11th seed to set up a clash with Soderling.
Berdych picked up where he had left off against fourth seed Andy Murray in the previous round, hammering a series of thumping ground strokes that were too much for Youzhny.
Two breaks of serve gave him the first set and he cruised through the second and third to clinch victory after just one hour, 54 minutes.