London: Spanish seventh seed David Ferrer failed in his bid to reach an 18th consecutive third round at a Grand Slam when he was knocked out of Wimbledon by Russian qualifier Andrey Kuznetsov on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old Ferrer last failed to reach the third round at a major at the 2010 Australian Open. But Kuznetsov, the world number 118, claimed a famous 6-7 (5/7), 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win to reach the third round at Wimbledon for the first time.
Ferrer had come into the tournament still suffering the after-effects of the illness which forced him out of the 's-Hertogenbosch grasscourt warm-up in the Netherlands last week. "Well of course I am sad. It's a disappointment, but it's not the end of the world."
Twice a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon, Ferrer had reached the round of 16 at the last 16 Slams, and the quarter-finals at the last 10. Wednesday's win was a first top 10 triumph for Kuznetsov, the 2009 junior champion at Wimbledon.
