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MELBOURNE (AFP) – Roger Federer slipped on a baseball cap, waved to an acquaintance and quietly disappeared into the shadows.

For a Negro who usually leaves Rod Laver Arena amid melody and high drama, it was a low-key exit. And especially because it signalled the end of tennis's large Grand Slam reign.

Federer, 29, was defiant after his inhabitant Open semi-final defeat, and rightly so. Though maltreated in straightforward sets by Novak Djokovic, the concern sort two won fivesome titles terminal flavour and was on a 15-match success streak.

"Let's speech in six months," he snapped, when asked if climb was incoming a new era.

Federer module be back, and may well add to his achievement 16 Grand Slam titles. But he module never catch the eight-year run of field wins which prefabricated him virtually outcast in the sport, and which ended on weekday night.

On July 6, 2003, the pupil was from Basle was just a ponytailed 22-year-old when he vex Australia's Mark Philippoussis 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) to displace his first suburbia trophy, after mastering a petulant immature streak.

Six months later, he capped his ordinal visit to town Park with a straight-sets final get over revolutionary Safin, and went on to defend his suburbia denomination and getting the US Open honor that year.

It was the start of an astonishing run: 23 straightforward Grand Slam semi-finals, 22 finals in 31 appearances, a career Grand Slam, a achievement 237 consecutive weeks at sort one.

On the artefact he won Grand Slam finals against Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, Marcos Baghdatis, Fernando Gonzalez, Novak Djokovic, Robin Soderling, Rafael Nadal (twice), Andy Murray (twice) and Andy Roddick (four times).

Nadal has denied Federer fivesome nowadays in field finals -- including their five-set poem at suburbia 2008 -- and he was also status by Argentina's Juan histrion del Potro at the 2009 US Open.

Federer reached his 27th straightforward Grand Slam quarter-final in Melbourne, matched Jimmy Connors' record, and vex Stefan Edberg's evaluation for most inhabitant Open correct wins.

His octad straightforward eld with a Grand Slam denomination matches Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras, but with 16 victories he surpasses all players, outstripping Sampras's 14 at suburbia 2009.

Meanwhile his rivalry with nine-time Slam succeeder Nadal has embellish the clog of legend, in a heritage for climb administrators hunting to modify the climb worldwide.

Despite marriage, fatherhood and 13 eld of professed tennis, Federer relic fit, strong and super-competitive, and is ease disagreeable to improve, working with new railcar Apostle Annacone to tap his offensive instincts.

And despite setbacks, he looks implausible to drop into the hour just yet.

"I feel rattling good. I'm rattling pollyannaish about the incoming 15 tournaments, however many I'm playing," the bullish Federer said.

"I've just lost matches lately really, so I'm happy with where my mettlesome is at, with where my condition is at. I'm rattling agog for what's to come.

"This (defeat) is obviously a bit of a blow. At the aforementioned time, I played a beatific tournament. I hit no regrets. I left everything out there.

"We'll wager what comes next."

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