Federer says farewell to Wimbledon dream

Federer falls to the ground during his quarter-final tie against Henman at Wimbledon Keystone

Switzerland's number one tennis player, Roger Federer, has lost his bid to reach the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Championships after losing in four sets to the Englishman, Tim Henman, 5:7, 6:7, 6:2, 6:7.

Though Henman took the first two sets, the Swiss teenager’s performance in the third proved that the match was far from over.

But it was Henman who showed he had the ice-cold nerves at the crucial moments of the match, saving three set points in the second set tie-break.

Federer forced his opponent into a fourth set tiebreak, which proved just how evenly matched the two top-seeded stars were.

But Switzerland’s only surviving Wimbledon participant was not destined to fulfil his dream of lifting the coveted trophy, as Henman stole the lead to take the game, set and match.

The Swiss star was unable to hide his feelings of regret in defeat as the 14,000-strong home crowd leapt to their feet to cheer the Englishman.

Speaking shortly after the match, Federer said he was bitterly disappointed by the result.

“I am absolutely gutted,” he admitted. “I set up plenty of chances for myself but I wasn’t able to follow through with them.”

“That really annoys me, because after beating Sampras, I really wanted to defeat Henman.”

But Federer remained confident that he would be back in style to play on England’s world-famous grass courts next year.

“I really hope I will be able to do even better here next year,” he said.

Federer, who sensationally knocked out seven-times Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras to reach the quarter finals, will now return to Switzerland to prepare for the Open Tournament in Gstaad which begins on July 7.

Sixth-seeded Henman, meanwhile, goes on to meet Croatian wildcard, Goran Ivanisevic, in the semi-finals.

swissinfo with agencies