Culture

Even Dethroned, Federer Wins Praise for Long Streak

The champ may have lost, but his reputation won

By Katharine Rust
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King of the courts, Roger Federer was de-thoned earlier today when Robin Soderling, a.k.a. Mr. Upset defeated the champ in the quarterfinals of the French Open. The win is a massive one for Soderling. For Federer it not only ends his appearance in the tournament, it also marks the end of a streak of 23 consecutive appearances in Grand Slam semifinals. While Soderling fans are jumping for joy at the win for their man, sports bloggers are still praising Federer for the feat.

  • Thanks, Roger, says Chris Chase at Yahoo Sports's tennis blog, Busted Raquet. "Instead of lamenting the demise of Roger Federer's semifinal streak, let's celebrate it," he says. "We've been witnesses to the greatest sustained run of tennis in the history of the sport.
  • Puts Amazing Feat in Perspective, writes Jon Wertheim at Sports Illustrated's Inside Tennis blog. He takes the moment to appreciate Federer's run. "If there's anything good about it, it's that Federer's streak -- which I always thought was terrifically underrated -- might finally get put in some perspective. ... Look at everything that could go wrong -- one bad day at the office, different weather conditions, jet lag, mono -- all around the world over the course of six years. That brand of consistency is pretty remarkable."
  • Loss Shows Federer's Strength, writes Jonathan Overland at BBC's Sport blog. "After reaching the semi-finals or better in his last 23 Grand Slam championships, this was Federer's earliest defeat at a major since the French Open of 2004. I hope this sequence is never forgotten - it will almost certainly never be repeated - because it's the ultimate statistical record of Federer's dominance, fitness and ability to peak at the right time."
  • Unbreakable? Asks Barry Petchesky at Deadspin. "Roger Federer owed Robin Soderling a beer for taking out Nadal last year. Well, consider them even, now that Soderling has ended Federer's streak of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals."
  • Well Cone, Soderling, says Pete Bodo at Tennis.com, for accomplishing "what, oh, some 110 previous opponents have not been able to do at all those other majors (16 of them eventually won by Federer)."
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.