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INDIAN
WELLS,
California—Roger Federer lost again, this time in one of the biggest
tennis upsets in memory. Mardy Fish, an American ranked
98th, shocked No. 1 Federer in straight sets Saturday,
with the lopsided score—6-3, 6-2—making it even more of
a stunner.
Fish,
who pulled off by far the biggest of his upsets he’s
strung together this week in the Pacific Life Open,
moved into Sunday’s final against No. 3 Novak Djokovic,
who ousted defending champion Rafael Nadal by the same
score.
Federer,
the Swiss star who has seemed almost invincible most of
the past five years, has looked vulnerable so far this
season.
He
hasn’t reached a final and has lost three times,
including defeats by eventual champion Djokovic in the
Australian Open semifinals, and by Andy Murray this
month in the first round at
Dubai.
The
26-year-old Federer, who was slowed by mononucleosis
early in the season, doesn’t seem overly concerned.
He
breezed through his first three matches at Indian Wells
without losing a set, then had a walkover in the
quarterfinals when Tommy Haas withdrew because of a
sinus infection.
“Today
it’s hard to judge, because Mardy took everything on the
rise; not many rallies out there,” said Federer, a
three-time champion in the desert tournament. “But all
in all, I’m happy with the way the week [went] for me.
Obviously, the walkover is sort of an awkward situation,
but you have to take them when they come around.
“So
semifinals to start off with at the first Masters Series
is a good thing, and I hope I can go from here and win
in Miami, and on to clay.”
Federer
said the unexpected day off when Haas pulled out Friday
may have thrown him a bit off his rhythm, but said Fish
simply played “incredibly.”
“When he
wanted to attack, everything worked,” Federer said. “He
would never miss, really, when I needed a miss once in a
while.”
He said
it’s impossible to not lose such matches occasionally,
adding: “I’m surprised myself that it hasn’t happened
more in the last five years. You always think one guy
can outright dominate you on any given day.
“People
weren’t able to do it against me, so that speaks for
itself. But today, Mardy was really impossible to beat,
it almost looked like.”
Fish,
also 26, ended Federer’s 41-match win streak against
Americans dating to a 2003 loss to Andy Roddick, and
beat him for the first time in their six meetings.
“This
obviously wasn’t Roger’s best day, but hopefully I had a
little something to do with that. I put the pressure,
extremely, on him from the word go,” said Fish, who
jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set and remained
in control the rest of the way.
Asked if
he could recall another upset in tennis to equal it,
Fish smiled and said, “I don’t think I’m that bad.”
In a
career interrupted by various injuries, he reached his
highest ranking, No. 17, four years ago.
Federer
looked like just another player Saturday, with his
backhand especially mediocre. He managed just one winner
and had 13 unforced errors with his backhand. Fish kept
constant pressure on him, serving seven aces to
Federer’s two, and peppering the lines with hard
groundstrokes.
He hit
26 winners to Federer’s 14 in defeating him for the
first time in six career meetings.
Fish,
who had never beaten as many as two top 10 players in
one tournament, defeated three at Indian Wells. He
downed No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko and No. 7 David
Nalbandian, as well as No. 24 Lleyton Hewitt, before
beating Federer.
Revenge
served
Australian Open champion Djokovic, ranked No. 3 to
Nadal’s No. 2, avenged last year’s loss to the Spaniard
in the Indian Wells final.
The
20-year-old Serb served eight aces to two by Nadal, and
hit 20 winners to the Spaniard’s 11.
The
match included several long, spectacular rallies when
each dashed around the court making difficult returns.
More often than not, Djokovic would end those rallies by
driving a winner down the lines, or Nadal would finally
miss a shot.
“I had
more mistakes than usual,” Nadal said. “I feel a little
bit tired from the last two matches. If you play against
a player like Novak, you have to play 100 percent if you
want to win.
“He’s a
very complete player—very good serve, very good
backhand, very good forehand. He moves fast and well. He
has very good position on the court.”
Djokovic
said he’s trying to take his fast start to the season in
stride.
“I need
to stay calm and just go step by step and try to get to
my lifetime goal, which is to be No. 1,” he said. “It’s
getting closer, but still, I don’t want to go too fast
and skip some things. I really need to be consistent
with my results in the most important events, major
events.
“I
started the year in the best possible way, but it’s not
over yet.”
In
Sunday’s women’s final, Ana Ivanovic will face Svetlana
Kuznetsova. AP |
