Olympics: Federer’s dreams turn to bronze
Swiss tennis player Roger Federer will play for the Olympic bronze medal on Wednesday after losing his semi-final encounter with Germany's Tommy Haas.
After a closely fought start, the 22-year-old German took control of the match with a five-game winning sequence.
Breaking Federer to go 5-3 up, Haas held his serve to take the first set 6-3. He then broke the Swiss player once more to take an early lead in the second set.
Federer’s service game was a major factor in his early round successes in Sydney but on Tuesday it seemed to have deserted him. After missing four break points in a row, the Basel teenager was himself broken for a third time to leave Haas just one game from victory.
Federer’s frustration showed as he tried to fight his way back. After a wayward shot he kicked his racket across the court in anger. If he was looking for motivation he didn’t find it. Two points later, after one hour and 12 minutes of play, Federer had lost the match (6-3, 6-2).
A win would have guaranteed Federer either the silver or gold medal. Now he must take on France’s Arnaud di Pasquale in a match to determine the winner of the bronze medal.
Di Pasquale also suffered a straight sets defeat in the semi-finals, losing to the tournament’s last remaining seeded player, Russia’s Yevgeny Kafelnikov (6-4, 6-4).
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