Rome, Italy (My Sportsbook) - World No. 1 superstar Roger Federer suffered a quarterfinal setback Friday at the hands of gritty Czech Radek Stepanek at the $3.5 million Italian Masters, a clay-court French Open tune- up. The unseeded Stepanek stunned the top-seeded Federer in straight sets in a pair of tiebreaks, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (9-7), at Foro Italico. Federer was the runner-up at this event in 2003 and 2006. Stepanek pulled off the upset in 1 hour, 55 minutes with the help of eight aces and a pair of service breaks. The 29-year-old Stepanek is now 2-4 lifetime against Federer, who had won their previous four meetings, including a third-round one here in 2006. The 12-time Grand Slam champion Federer dropped to 22-6 this year and has won only one title in seven tournaments in 2008. A milder Day-5 upset came when Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka upended eighth-seeded American James Blake 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-1. This week's winner will take home $558,000. |
