Federer ousted from Rotterdam tournament

Julien Benneteau of France, right, shakes hands with Roger Federer of Switzerland, after his victory at the ABN AMRO world tennis tournament at Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Photo: AP

Julien Benneteau caused a major upset in the quarter-finals of the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament here by beating top seed Roger Federer 6-3, 7-5.

Federer, the reigning champion in Rotterdam, was broken in his opening game, which proved to be a sign for a difficult match. In the second set, Frenchman Benneteau made a decisive break on 6-5 to secure victory. Federer, currently number two in the world ranking, won the ATP tournament in Rotterdam in 2005 and 2012.

“I am glad I could finish it this way,” Benneteau was quoted as saying by Xinhua. “This is a dream. Probably my best win ever.”

In the semi-final matches on Saturday Benneteau, ranked 39th on the ATP World Ranking, will meet compatriot Gilles Simon. The other semi-final will be between Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and Argentinean Juan Martin Del Potro, who lost the final to Federer last year.