There was no injury to fall back on for Roger Federer this time.
The man considered by many to be the greatest tennis player ever provided another glimpse that his greatness will be talked about in the past tense with his 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 loss to 18th-seeded and ever-quotable Ernests Gulbis in the fourth round of the French Open.
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The 32-year-old Federer, who owns a record 17 Grand Slam championships, once was a lock to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event. He holds the record with 36 consecutive appearances in quarterfinals at majors.
But Federer now has lost in three of his last four Grand Slam events before the quarterfinals. Injuries, however, were the root of Federer's problems last year. He has been healthy in 2014. He missed much of the clay season to be with his wife for the birth of their twin sons in May.
Federer lost in the first round of his final tuneup at the Italian Open. But he still felt as if he could extend his streak of consecutive quarterfinals appearances as Roland Garros to 10 years. It's been five years since Federer won the Grand Slam on clay.
"This one, I felt I was in good form," Federer said, sounding particularly glum, according to the New York Times. "I really feel I could have done something, and it's for that reason that I might even be more disappointed this time."
Only one of Federer's 17 majors has come at Roland Garros, so clay could be considered his least favorite surface. And while he expressed disappointment at his loss in France, he also said he was looking forward to Wimbledon, which begins on June 23.
"When I'm healthy, like I have been now for the last six to nine months, I can decide the outcome of the matches more than I could last year," Federer said, according to Tennis.SI.com. "So I'm very excited about my chances for Wimbledon."
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