Latvian Ernests Gulbis handed Roger Federer his worst French Open loss in a decade as he beat the Swiss 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in Sunday’s fourth round.

Second seed Novak Djokovic continued the quest for the only grand slam title he has never won, hammering French 13th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 6-4, 6-1.

The Serb will play for the semi-finals against eighth seed Milos Raonic, who beat Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to become the first Canadian man to ever get this far in Paris.

Fourth seed Federer’s previous worst loss at Roland Garros came in 2004 when he went out to Gustavo Kuerten in the third round.

“Clearly it very disappointing not to come through with the win,” said the Swiss. “After the chances in the second set, fighting back in the fourth, not to play a better fifth set...

“There are a lot of regrets here now. Gulbis did a good job of hanging around and clearly coming back in that second set was crucial for him. It was a tough match and I’m disappointed I lost it.” The defeat in three and three-quarter hours blocked the 32-year-old from a 10th consecutive quarter-final in Paris and dropped his tournament record to 61-15.

It was only the fourth time over the last 41 grand slams that Federer has failed to reach the last eight stage (2013 Wimbledon, 2013 US Open, 2004 Paris). He had won all six of the five-set matches he had played at Roland Garros Gulbis, who also upset Federer in Rome 2110, used his huge forehand to stay level with the Swiss. He saved two set points in the second set which proved crucial.

In the fourth Federer led 5-2 and was then had to wait while Gulbis took a medical timeout for his back.. Upon resumption, Federer played flat to lose serve on one of his 59 unforced errors a game later.

The Swiss saved the set to stay alive two games later to level at two sets each on a volley winner.

His momentum did not hold up in the fifth as the 17th-ranked Gulbis got on top early with a break for 2-0.

Try as he did, Federer was never able to close the gap. A Gulbis ace set up two match points and a Federer backhand wide ended the frustrating effort for the 2009 champion.

“I kept fighting, Ernests was also doing a good job of keeping the pace up on his serve and also trying to play aggressive with his backhand from the baseline,” said Federer. “I kind of knew what I was expecting today.” Gulbis termed the win “probably the most important, especially because it was five sets.

“I had beaten him before but it was a three set match. For my confidence and for me as a tennis player, a five-set win over Roger Federer, it’s really big.” Gulbis will next play Tomas Berdych after the sixth seed beat John Isner, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Andy Murray finished off an interrupted third-round match, beating Philipp Kohlschreiber 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 12-10.

Murray, seeded seventh, admitted that he slept “maybe five hours” and said he kept waking up at 4 or 5 am ready to take to the court after the match was stopped at 7-7 in the fifth set on Saturday night.

Kohlschreiber saved a match point in the 18th game before losing in four hours, seven minutes.

Fernando Verdasco concluded a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 win over French 12th seed Richard Gasquet, who did not play at all on clay before Paris due to a knee injury which kept him out since late March.

Women's Singles

In the women’s draw, Australian Open semi-finalist Eugenie Bouchard hammered German eighth seed Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-2 for her first win over a top 10 player at a grand slam.

Bouchard needed just 52 minutes to next play Spanish 14th seed Carla Suarez Navarro, who defeated Croatian Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-3.

Bouchard earned the win in 52 minutes with 30 winners and 11 unforced errors, breaking Kerber four times and earned a revenge win after losing to the seed at the US Open in the second round in 2013.

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