Stepanek knocks Federer out of Rome Masters

A STEP CLOSER: Andy Roddick of the US reacts after he won against Spain's Tommy Robredo in quarter-final match at the Rome Masters.

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Rome: First it was Rafael Nadal. Then came Roger Federer's turn.

The two players who have dominated tennis for the last three years were both upset over three days at the Rome Masters.

Federer lost his sixth match of the year on Friday, falling to 27th-ranked Radek Stepanek 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) in the quarter-finals.

The top-ranked Federer lost only nine matches in all of 2007. He piled up a string of defeats at the beginning of this year when he was diagnosed with mononucleosis.

Nadal, the three-time defending champion in Rome, was beaten in the second round by Juan Carlos Ferrero.

"It shows how the (other) players are getting better. Everybody is hungry," Stepanek said. "Two players can't win all the tournaments."

In the semi-finals, Stepanek will face Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic. He advanced when Nicolas Almagro retired with an apparent wrist problem while the Serb led 6-1, 1-0.

In the other half of the draw, sixth-seeded Andy Roddick eliminated No. 14 Tommy Robredo 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4) to match his best performance in Rome.

Roddick also reached the semi-finals in his debut at the Foro Italico in 2002, losing to Tommy Haas. His semi-final opponent this time will be Stanislas Wawrinka, who rallied past eighth-seeded James Blake 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 6-1.

The last American to win in Rome was Andre Agassi in 2002.

Roddick improved to 8-0 in his career against Robredo, rushing the net on both his first and second serves against the Spaniard.

In the third-set tiebreaker, Roddick overwhelmed Robredo with two aces and converted his first match point after following his second serve to net.

Federer surrendered a 5-2 lead in the second-set tiebreaker, and wasted a set point at 6-5 on Stepanek's serve by hitting into the net.

"Usually when I have a lead I don't let it go, so it's quite disappointing," Federer said. "I played so poorly on the big points."

Federer won his first title of 2008 at the Estoril Open last month, the longest he's waited in nine years.