ROME, (Reuters) – Roger Federer failed to make the quarter-finals of a tournament for the first time in a year yesterday while Rafa Nadal returned to form in the third round of the Rome Masters despite almost withdrawing with a fever.
Novak Djokovic then stretched his unbeaten run for the year to 34 matches after winning eight of the last nine games against Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka to triumph 6-4 6-1.
Third-seed Federer took the first set 6-4 against France’s Richard Gasquet but, in a match of clean-hitting strokes, lost the next two sets against the 16th seed on tiebreaks (7-2, 7-4).
World number four Andy Murray, Robin Soderling, Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych, Croat Marin Cilic and German Florian Mayer also made it through to the last eight.
“I should never have lost this match,” world number three Federer, knocked out by Ernests Gulbis in the second round in Rome last year, told reporters.
“He knows how close he came to losing. I had multiple chances but I couldn’t make the difference.”
The Swiss, who had won the last eight matches between the two, broke serve in the very first game but Gasquet responded with 10 straight points to draw level at 2-2.
The long thrilling rallies had both players covering every bit of the court but it was Federer who broke again in the seventh game with two sweet forehands to take the set.
Gasquet, whose one victory against Federer had come on clay at Monte Carlo in 2005, fought back by trouncing the tired-looking Swiss in the second set tieback with a backhand winner before a flourishing crosscourt forehand.
With games going with serve in the deciding set, Gasquet again showed a steelier side, forcing Federer into two top-spin backhand errors in another confident tiebreak to take the scalp.
NO CHANCES
World number one Nadal reached the quarter-finals with a 6-4 6-2 defeat of fellow left-hander and Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.
“I had a fever last night and only decided at the last minute to go on court,” Nadal, champion in Rome for five of the last six years, told reporters.
On Wednesday he came within two games of a shock defeat by Italian qualifier Paolo Lorenzi, adding to concerns for the Mallorcan whose 37-match winning streak on clay was ended by Djokovic in the final of the Madrid Open Sunday.
Djokovic can knock Nadal from the top of the rankings if he wins the title and the Spaniard falls before the semi-finals.
Nadal said he would take no chances with his health with the start of the French Open just over a week away, although he played down speculation he might not be fit to defend his title.
“Why wouldn’t I be OK for Roland Garros?” he said. “In 2009 I wasn’t OK. My knee was destroyed. I’m worried about tomorrow not in one week and a half’s time.”
Despite his illness Nadal stamped his authority from the start against Lopez, winning the opening three games, but his early fire fizzled out as the unseeded Lopez hit back for 4-4.
