LONDON: For the first time in eight years, Roger Federer won’t be striding onto Centre Court for the Wimbledon final this weekend.

The six-time champion was upset in the quarter-finals by hard-hitting Tomas Berdych on Wednesday, stopping his bid for a record-tying seventh title at the All England Club and extending his recent stretch of disappointing play. The 12th-seeded Berdych used his big serve and forehand to beat Federer 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, on Centre Court for the biggest victory of the Czech’s career.

It’s the first time since 2002 that Federer has failed to reach the final. Since losing in the first round eight years ago, Federer had played in the championship match a record seven consecutive times. He won the title six times and finished runner-up once, bolstering his reputation as the greatest player of all-time.

Winner of a record 16 Grand Slam titles, Federer said he was unable to play his best tennis Wednesday because of pain in his back and right leg. Berdych however said he didn’t notice anything wrong with Federer.

Berdych will next face Novak Djokovic, who swept past Yen-hsun Lu in straight sets to reach the semi-finals for the second time. The third-seeded Djokovic never faced a break point as he beat the 82nd-ranked Taiwanese player 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in less than two hours on Court 1.

Second-seeded Rafael Nadal, who beat Federer in the 2008 final, lost the first five games of the match but rallied to defeat No 6 Robin Soderling 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-1. It was a rematch of this year’s French Open final, which the Spaniard also won.

Nadal will play the winner of the match between No 4 Andy Murray and No 10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

With the loss, Federer will drop to No 3 in the ATP rankings next week for the first time since November 10, 2003. Since winning the Australian Open in January, he has failed to win a tournament.

Federer was playing in his 25th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final. He had won 23 straight, but now has lost two in a row. Federer fell to Soderling at the French Open earlier this month.

Federer had won 76 of 77 grass-court matches dating to 2003 coming into this month, but has now lost two of the past six, including to Lleyton Hewitt in Halle.

Federer was clearly outplayed Wednesday by a man who has always possessed enormous talent but often failed to live up to expectations.