News / Sports
Roger Federer Eliminated from Italian Open
Djokovic and Nadal Advance, Djokovic Extends Streak
Federer won his last eight matches against the 24-year-old French player but made an unusual number of errors that ultimately led to his defeat.
"I definitely feel I should never have lost this match," said Federer. "I just couldn't come up with the shots."
Federer started off the match by winning the first 10 points. But crucial missed break points and 30 unforced errors did not help his cause.
"I had multiple chances," Federer said. "It's disappointing. ... I probably never felt I was going to win the breaker -- it's tough to play that way."
But Federer is not disconcerted by his loss. He is looking forward to having some extra time to rest and then practice for the upcoming French Open, which starts on May 22nd.
"I'll definitely be happy to take two, three, four days off to get mentally fresh and then practice very hard," said Federer. "There's no reason to panic."
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic both won their respective third-round matches and thus advanced in the tournament in Rome.
Djokovic extended his perfect season record to 34-0 with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Stanislas Wawrinka.
Djokovic, who turns 24 on the opening day of the French Open, now has the best opening season record since John McEnroe started his season 42-0 in 1984.
Nadal, who almost withdrew from the tournament because of a fever, decided to play his match and came out with a 6-4, 6-2 win over fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.
"I had a fever last night and this morning I didn't feel better," said Nadal. "I didn't know if I was going to go on the court for the match. I decided at the last moment."
Nadal has to win his next quarterfinals match against Marin Cilic of Croatia to keep his #1 ranking for at least one more week. If he loses the match and Djokovic goes on to win the event, then Djokovic will become the first player besides Nadal or Federer to be ranked the #1 player in the world since 2004.
(Sources: Associated Press)
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