Federer loses to Gulbis in French Open's fourth round

Paris: Roger Federer's streak of nine consecutive quarter-finals at the French Open ended on Sunday with a 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 fourth-round loss to 18th-seeded Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.

It's Federer's earliest exit at Roland Garros since 2004, when he was beaten in the third round by Gustavo Kuerten.

After that, though, Federer made at least the quarterfinals at a record 36 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, a streak that ended with a second-round loss at Wimbledon last year.

Now he has bowed out before the quarterfinals at three of the last four majors.

The fourth-seeded Federer owns a record 17 Grand Slam titles, including at the 2009 French Open. But he was hardly at his best Sunday, getting broken seven times, including twice while serving for a set.