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Tampa's Blake Beats Federer In Olympic Quarterfinals

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The Associated Press

Published: August 14, 2008

BEIJING - Roger Federer directed an angry scream toward his feet. He swatted a stray ball in frustration. He slapped his thigh, hung his head and stomped behind the baseline.

And as a last resort, he questioned calls, something he hates to do. That merely made him madder: He went 0-4 on replay challenges.

For Federer, it was that kind of night. It has been that kind of year.

Federer's bid for his first Olympic singles medal ended Thursday night when he lost to Tampa resident James Blake. With the sort of lackluster performance once unthinkable for Federer, he was eliminated by the American in the quarterfinals 6-4, 7-6 (2).

In a tournament that had been upset-free through three rounds, Serena Williams also lost. No. 5-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 yearlong 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 No. 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal next week after 4 1/2 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 semifinals in Sydney and in the second round in Athens. He was scheduled to play a quarterfinal doubles match later Thursday with Swiss partner Stanislas Wawrinka.

The upset was sweet for the No. 8-seeded Blake, a first-time Olympian at 28 and the lone U.S. male to survive the first round of singles.

"I proved that I played with the best tonight, and it couldn't have happened to me on a better stage," Blake said.

The No. 4-seeded 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 U.S. 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 yet."

Williams remained in contention for a doubles medal and was to play a second-round match later with her sister Venus. They won a gold in doubles in 2000 in Sydney.

Play began after a rain delay of 3 hours, 35 minutes, with Federer on center 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-all. But Blake played a flawless tiebreaker, while Federer made two unforced errors and popped up a volley.

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 No. 1 in the world — he played those points better than everyone. Today, I played them well."

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