BEIJING -- There will be no Olympic medal in what is turning out to be a head-scratching year for Roger Federer.

The top-seeded Swiss saw his chance for gold in Beijing go up in smoke in a 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) loss to American James Blake in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Just days before he will have his record streak of 237 weeks at No. 1 in the world come to an end, Federer saw the eighth-seeded Blake finally break through against him.

The 28-year-old American had been 0-8 all-time against the Swiss star - all on hardcourts - until Thursday, when Blake took advantage of some shaky play by Federer to keep alive his hopes for his first Olympic medal.

Blake, who is winless on the ATP Tour this season, awaits either No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile or France's Paul-Henri Mathieu in the semifinals.

Four days before Spain's Rafael Nadal will overtake him for the world's top spot, Federer had his game fail him, managing just three aces while getting just 55 percent of his first serve in.

The Swiss star, who has failed to reach the semifinals in three tournaments since losing to Nadal in the Wimbledon championship match, also struggled with unforced errors, committing 56.

Federer did not figure to have big problems with the athletic Blake, having won each of the last eight sets in three matches going back to 2006.

However, Blake managed to converted on two of his six break chances and successfully move the Swiss star around the court.

Despite some early issues with rain, Nadal is also expected to take to the court Thursday when he faces Jurgen Melzer of Austria.

The second-seeded Spaniard has won won 35 of his last 36 matches dating back to May.

In the other quarterfinal, No. 3 Novak Djokovic will square off with France's Gael Monfils.

8:56 PM
Categories: Olympics. Author: SacHu