Swiss tennis great Roger Federer has been knocked out of the Estoril Open with a 6-2, 7-6 (5) semifinals loss to defending champion Albert Montañés of Spain.
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On Sunday Montañés beat unseeded Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-5.
Rain made the clay court even slipperier, and Federer, the world’s number one player, committed 48 unforced errors. Most of them were on his backhand.
The Swiss seemed to react slowly against Montañés, whom he had beaten three times out of three earlier matches before posting the loss. Federer gave away the first set in less than a half an hour. In the second set tiebreaker, Federer rallied to a 5-2 lead before Montañés mounted a five-point comeback for the win.
Federer had come to the tournament in Portugal for more clay-court time before playing in the French Open later this month. He won Estoril the only other time he’s competed in the tournament, in 2008.
The Swiss said the loss had not shaken his confidence in how he’ll perform in the French Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris.
“Roland-Garros is still a long way away,” he said. “My goal is no longer to win 12 tournaments a year. It’s to win the big tournaments.”
In other tennis action, Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka lost to John Isner of the United States 7-5, 7-5 in the Serbia Open semifinals on Saturday.
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