Federer, Roddick fall in Rome; Nadal advances

May 10, 2007, 22:43 GMT

Rome, Italy - World No. 1 superstar Roger Federer and former top-ranked American Andy Roddick were a pair of third-round upset victims Thursday at the Italian Masters, a clay-court French Open tune-up.

The top-seeded Federer was shocked by Italian wild card Filippo Volandri 6-2, 6-4 in 1 hour, 18 minutes at Foro Italico. Volandri broke the Swiss' solid serve on four occasions, while Federer settled for a mere one break on Day 4.

Federer fell to a mortal 7-4 in his last 11 outings and has failed to win any of his last four tournaments. The mighty Swiss has only reached one final in his last four events, and he lost to the two-time defending Rome champion Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo. This marks the worst stretch of Federer's career since he reached No. 1 in February of 2004.

'I don't know what's wrong,' Federer said. 'I have to analyze it myself. It was over too soon for me today.'

The 10-time Grand Slam champion Federer was last year's Rome runner-up to the reigning two-time French Open titlist Nadal and also reached the final here in 2003.

Nadal, meanwhile, appeared in full health as he cruised past Mikhail Youzhny 6-2, 6-2, to push his clay-court winning streak to 74.

Nadal went to a local hospital on Thursday to get checked out for dizzy spells. He said he felt dizzy after his second-round victory over Italian Daniele Bracciali here on Wednesday.

The Spaniard is trying to become the first player to capture this event three straight years.

A third-seeded Roddick was driven out by Argentine slugger Juan Ignacio Chela 6-0, 6-4. Roddick typically struggles on the European red clay, and Thursday was no exception for the big-serving American.

Red-hot Serbian Novak Djokovic booked his spot in the quarters by handling Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, the 2006 Aussie Open runner-up, 6-2, 7-5. The fifth- seeded Djokovic was last week's titlist in Estoril and also captured the lucrative Masters Series event in Miami early last month.

Fourth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko overcame Italian wild card Potito Starace 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, while sixth-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez snuck past his qualifier compatriot Nicolas Massu 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-4. Gonzalez, who lost to Federer in January's Australian Open finale, should have his hands full with Chela here on Friday.

In other third-round action, seventh-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo routed Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-2 and 12th-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych blitzed Argentine Jose Acasuso 6-1, 6-2. Berdych will face Volandri in the quarterfinals, while Robredo will encounter Davydenko.

© 2007 The Sports Network