Federer Falls in Straight Sets

In surprise trouncing, No. 3 seed Djokovic ends star's finals streak
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 25, 2008 6:43 AM CST
Federer Falls in Straight Sets
Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts to a point win as he plays Switzerland's Roger Federer during their Men's singles semi final at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 25, 2008.(AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)   (Associated Press)

No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic cruised past Roger Federer in straight sets today, bouncing him from the Aussie Open in a surprise end to his run of 10 straight grand slam finals. Federer looked off his game, lacking his typically dominant ground strokes and drop shots. “I’ve created a monster that I need to win every tournament,” Federer said. “Still, the semifinals isn’t bad.”

At first, everything seemed to be going smoothly as Federer opened a 5-3 lead in the first set—before Djokovic roared back to win the next four, taking that set and the next two to win 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (5), marking Federer’s first straight-set loss since 2004. A stunned crowd gave Federer a standing ovation as he quickly fled the scene. (More Roger Federer stories.)

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