2014 French Open Upset: Federer Falls Against Gulbis

Roger Federer has failed yet again in the early round of a Grand Slam falling to 18th seed Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in five sets, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the fourth round of the men's singles of the 2014 French Open.

The 17-time majors champion did not know what hit him.

“What’s done is done,” Federer said via the tournament's official website. “You can’t always explain why you lost. I’m not happy. I missed too many opportunities. I did not play like I wanted to play. I had so many opportunities. A lot of regrets here now."

Federer also whined about Gulbis injury timeout and almost used it as an excuse why he lost the match.

“He didn’t look hurt in any way,” Federer said. “They leave the court, go for treatment and then come back. You don't know what they were doing. So that's part of the game. But clearly you don't want anybody to abuse it. I hope that Ernests didn't. As long as integrity is fine and the players do it because of obvious reasons, it's OK. But if it's just to disrupt play for the other guy, then clearly it's not very fair.”

However, Gulbis was simply the better player especially in the crucial fifth set.

The Latvian had a couple of aces while the Swiss had none. His first serve was also accurate-- winning 14-of-15 points there for 93 per cent-- putting the pressure on the player who is considered one of the greats in his sport but could be in the twilight of his career.

“It was the best win of my career. A five-set win over Roger Federer – that’s really big. He's a human being. He gets tight too. But it’s a big upset, a big win for me,” offered Gulbis post-match.

It was indeed a big upset and yet another big disappointment for the former world number one.

View the slideshow for more images from the Federer-Gulbis match.