Federer suffers unexpected defeat, Nadal advances
Posted on July 24, 2008
Filed Under ATP
Tennis heavyweight Roger Federer, still ranked number 1, suffered an unexpected defeat on Wednesday night, when he was ousted from Rogers Cup by Giles Simon of France, ranked 22nd in the world. The unseeded French player defeated the world number 1 in three sets 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, thus putting an end to the Swiss star’s hopes of a rematch against his second-ranked rival, Rafael Nadal, after having lost the epic Wimbledon final to the Spanish player, two weeks ago.
“The problem was my game today,” said Federer into the post-match interview room. “I had enough to put him away.”
The unforgiving hard court of the Rogers Cup tournament proved to be a little bumpier for the Swiss champ, who ended the second set with four unforced errors on his usually deadly forehand. In the end of the match, Federer repeated the same errors as he served to tie the third set, but he unravelled, sending forehands, wide, into the net, long and long.
“I don’t know what to say right now,” the 23-year-old French player said. “I am so confident, actually (after winning last week) and I just wanted to fight, to play a nice game, a nice match. And that’s what I did tonight, so I am so proud of it.”
“For sure this is my best victory, even if he’s not the No. 1 next week.”
Federer was asked if Wimbledon had drained him. He just smiled wryly and said: “You wouldn’t have asked me that if I would have won, right? So I guess.”
Wednesday, after nearly six hours of rain delay, Nadal won 6-4, 6-2 to Ottawa-born American qualifier Jesse Levine.
“Today wasn’t my best match,” said Nadal, 22. “I have to be better, that’s for sure.”
“I think I was in that zone where I wasn’t sure really where I was,” said Levine, ranked 123rd. “And then I came to my senses and realized I’m playing Nadal on stadium court.”
No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, No. 5 David Ferrer of Spain, No. 7 James Blake of the United States, and No. 10 Richard Gasquet of France, all advanced, but seeds that fell in the second round included No. 12 Tommy Robredo of Spain (6-3, 6-4 by Marin Cilic of Croatia, ranked 44th), No. 13 Fernando Verdasco, also of Spain (6-4, 6-7, 6-4 to Robin Soderling of Sweden), No. 14 Fernando Gonzalez, of Chile (6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to Jose Acasuso of Chile) and talented but erratic No. 16 seed Tomas Berdych, of the Czech Republic (6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to Igor Andreev of Russia.)
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