In one of the biggest upsets in any sport so far in these Olympics, American James Blake beat Switzerland's Roger Federer in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the men's tennis singles tournament.
For Blake, who has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, this represents the biggest win of his career. He is now guaranteed of playing for a medal; if he wins his next match he'll go on to the gold medal match; if he loses he'll still play for the bronze.
For Federer, the loss knocks him out of medal contention in singles. The Olympics have been a series of disappointments for Federer, who came in fourth in 2000 and lost in the second round in 2004. (Federer and his countryman Stanislas Wawrinka are still in contention in doubles.)
Federer spent several years as the greatest tennis player in the world, but he is on the decline at age 27, and now he's out of the Olympic singles tournament.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-14-2008 @ 4:11PM
brig said...
Poor Fed. Why does every one say Fed is washed up? In the begining of the year he had Mono which takes months to get over. He's had one bad year. All of the greatest tennis players have 1-2 bad years after dominating. Fed will win 3 majors and end up with 15.
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8-14-2008 @ 5:17PM
gifty ofosu said...
blake is proven to the world that he can also be #1 in tennis and proven to americans that he can do it.and also americans can count on him even if he does not win the gold medal,he did his best and he will always be my #1 in tennis.
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8-15-2008 @ 12:22AM
Matt said...
Hey gifty, mix in a readable post.
The fact that Federer has been in three Olympics singles tournaments and only has one medal lends to the fact that there is little to no motivation for the best of the game to give it their all. The US Open is only a few weeks away and with Rafa nipping at Fed's heels (or more correctly surpassing him), there is no doubt that Fed is more interested in the US Open. I had hoped that the potential final of Rafa/Fed might be motivation enough for Fed to compete for the gold, but unfortunately that was not the case.
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8-15-2008 @ 4:36AM
anny said...
Actually Fed has said repeatedly that winning a Gold medal is one of his top priorities and that he was devastated when he lost in 2000. This just hasn't been his year.
8-15-2008 @ 7:50AM
Matt said...
Seriously?
What's he going to say? That he didn't care that he lost? Yeah, that would go over well with the media and the public.
The event is on a surface he has dominated and in three chances he comes up with one semi-final?
You're certifiable if you think he takes this as seriously as the US Open.
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8-23-2008 @ 4:55PM
Ga said...
Who is Federer?
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