ROGER Federer's bid for his first Olympic singles medal ended yesterday when he lost to James Blake of the United States, in a match where the Swiss star swatted stray balls in frustration and hung his head and stomped behind the baseline.
As a last resort, Federer questioned calls, something he hates to do. That merely made him madder – he went 0-4 on replay challenges. With the sort of lacklustre performance once unthinkable for Federer, he was eliminated in the quarterfinals 6-4, 7-
6 (7/2).
In a tournament that had been upset-free through three rounds, Serena Williams also lost. Fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia, who won a silver medal in Sydney in 2000, raced to a 5-0 lead in the final set and held on to beat Williams 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Blake's victory was a stunner in that he had won only a single set in eight previous matches against Federer.
"If you play him enough times, he's bound to have an off day," Blake said. But the top-seeded Federer has been battling a year-long slump that has left him stalled at 12 major titles, two shy of Pete Sampras' record. His Wimbledon reign ended last month, and he came to Beijing knowing he would lose the No1 ranking to Rafael Nadal next week after four-and-a-half years on top.
Federer's latest defeat means no rematch in Sunday's final against Nadal, who won in epic fashion when they met for the Wimbledon title. Federer had been seeking his first Olympic medal after losing in the singles semi-finals in Sydney and in the second round in Athens. He was scheduled to play a quarter-final doubles match later yesterday with Swiss partner Stanislas Wawrinka.
Federer said "It was one of the goals of the season for me to do well here. This obviously is a big blow, because I expected more. I've played him (Blake] on many occasions, but I think this was the best I've seen him. I'm happy for him. He's a good guy. I hope he can go all the way now."
The upset was sweet for Blake, a first-time Olympian at 28 and the lone US male to survive the first round of singles. He said: "I proved that I played with the best tonight, and it couldn't have happened to me on a better stage."
Top-seeded Mike and Bob Bryan of the United States advanced to the semi-finals in doubles by beating Lleyton Hewitt and Chris Guccione of Australia 6-4, 6-3.
No4 seed Williams struggled with her serve early against Dementieva, then staged a rally in the final set. Williams overcame two match points during an 18-point game to hold for 5-3. But Dementieva held at love in the next game, sealing the victory when Williams pushed a volley wide. The loss came after the US team had won 12 consecutive matches over the past three days.
"It was what it was," Williams said as she left the court. "It hasn't sunk in yet."
And the other Williams sister, double Olympic champion, Venus, was also beaten yesterday as she went down 7-5, 7-5 to China's Li Na. Roared on by a noisy crowd under the Centre Court floodlights, Li recovered from a slow start to leave the Wimbledon champion reeling.
Venus looked to have steadied the ship when she battled back from 3-0 down to lead 4-3 in the second set, but Li continued to play the better tennis and claimed victory when her opponent dumped a forehand into the net on her second match point. But the Williams sisters remained in contention for a doubles medal and were due to play a second-round match later yesterday. They won a gold in doubles in 2000 in Sydney.
Play began after a rain delay of three hours, 35 minutes, with Federer on centre court first, and he seemed off his game from the start. His forehand – once the sport's most feared – was unreliable, and he repeatedly struggled to hold serve.
Blake earned the first break in the final game of the opening set. On set point, Federer left his feet for a spectacular backhand save that extended the rally, but with his next shot he floated an easy backhand into the net. His shoulders sagging, he was broken again two games later and fell behind 3-0 in the second set.
Federer finally showed life by breaking back in the fifth game and holding the rest of the way to reach 6-6. But Blake played a flawless tiebreaker, while Federer made two unforced errors. When Federer sailed a return long on match point, Blake screamed "Yeah!" Federer ripped off his headband and walked head down to the net.
"In a lot of the other matches, it has been a point here or there," Blake said. "That's why he was No1 in the world – he played those points better than everyone. Today I played them well."
The full article contains 856 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
