Federer out in Rome
Switzerland's Roger Federer saw two impressive runs come to an end on Thursday as he was dumped out of the Master Series tennis tournament in Rome by South Africa's Wayne Ferreira.
After making it through to the quarter-finals of the Masters Series events in Miami and Monte Carlo, the Basel teenager was unable to complete a hat-trick in the Italian capital, losing Thursday’s third round tie in straight sets (6-7, 2-6).
By winning the opening set tie-break 7-4, Ferreira also ended the impressive sequence that had seen Federer win his last 10 tie-breaks.
Coming into the Rome tournament with a career-high world ranking of 18th, the young Swiss player further enhanced his growing reputation with a second round victory on Wednesday over Russian world number two Marat Safin.
However, Thursday’s setback has reduced Federer’s chances of reaching the top 16 in time for a place in the seedings at this month’s French Open.
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