London - Roger Federer suffered a stunning Wimbledon exit as the defending champion blew a two-set lead and wasted a match point in a 2-6, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 6-4, 13-11 quarter-final defeat against South Africa's Kevin Anderson on Wednesday.

Federer's bid to win a ninth Wimbledon title came to an astonishing end as the Swiss star collapsed in a nail-biting four hour and 13 minute classic that ranks as one of the tournament's greatest upsets.

It was Federer's earliest departure from Wimbledon since his shock second round defeat against Sergiy Stakhovsky in 2013.

Eighth seed Anderson will play 2016 runner-up Milos Raonic or American ninth seed John Isner on Friday for a place in Sunday's final.

Wimbledon results on Wednesday, the ninth day of the 2018 championships (x denotes seeded player):

Men

Quarter-finals

Kevin Anderson (RSA x8) bt Roger Federer (SUI x1) 2-6, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 6-4, 13-11

Novak Djokovic (SRB x12) bt Kei Nishikori (JPN x24) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2