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Fish sinks Federer

A tired Nadal fails to threaten Djokovic

INDIAN WELLS: Top-ranked Roger Federer suffered his worst defeat in almost three years when he was routed by American Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-2 in the Pacific Life Open semifinals on Saturday.

By the same score, Novak Djokovic powered past defending champion Rafael Nadal.

Federer, the Swiss star who has seemed almost invincible for most of the past five years, has looked vulnerable so far this season.

He hasn’t reached a final and has lost three times, including defeats by eventual champion Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals, and by Andy Murray this month in the first round at Dubai.

Federer, who was slowed by mononucleosis early in the season, doesn’t seem overly concerned.

He breezed through his first three matches at Indian Wells without losing a set, then had a walkover in the quarterfinals when Tommy Haas withdrew because of a sinus infection.

“Today it’s hard to judge, because Mardy took everything on the rise; not many rallies out there,” said Federer, a three-time champion in the desert tournament. “But all in all, I’m happy with the way the week (went) for me. Obviously, the walkover is sort of an awkward situation, but you have to take them when they come around.”

“So semifinals to start off with at the first Masters Series is a good thing, and I hope I can go from here and win in Miami, and on to clay.”

Federer said the unexpected day off when Haas pulled out on Friday may have thrown him a bit off his rhythm, but said Fish simply played “incredibly.”

“When he wanted to attack, everything worked,” Federer said. “He would never miss, really, when I needed a miss once in a while.”

Fish joined the world’s top three players in the semifinals unseeded and unheralded. Fish had downed No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko and No. 7 David Nalbandian, as well as two-time former champion Lleyton Hewitt but he’d lost all five previous matches against Federer, including here in 2004 and 2005.

Nadal, ranked No. 2 to Djokovic’s No. 3, was out to repeat last year’s final result but struggled on serve and lost the last four games to the Australian Open champion, who hit 22 winners to Nadal’s 11. The Spaniard broke Djokovic in the third game but the Serb hit back immediately and broke again for 5-3 on a net cord.

“I had more mistakes than usual,” Nadal said. “I feel a little bit tired from the last two matches. If you play against a player like Novak, you have to play 100 per cent if you want to win. He’s a very complete player — very good serve, very good backhand, very good forehand. He moves fast and well. He has very good position on the court.”

After beating Nadal for only the third time in nine matches, Djokovic said he’s trying to take his fast start to the season in stride.

The results:

Men: Semifinals: Mardy Fish bt Roger Federer 6-3, 6-2; Novak Djokovic bt Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2. — Agencies

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