rogerfederer.com - Roger upset in Cincinnati

Roger upset in Cincinnati

Roger had to face a 7-6 (8), 4-6, 7-6 (7) loss to Ivo Karlovic in two hours and eleven minutes in Cincinnati today. It was his first defeat against the Croatian in seven encounters.

The tie-break of the first set proved a close affair, but the key moment came when 16th seed Karlovic stopped mid-point to challenge a line call, with Hawk-Eye showing Roger had pushed his shot long. That gave Karlovic set point on serve and the Croatian took full advantage to wrap up the opener. Roger finally secured the first break of the match in game five as Karlovic sent a forehand long, and it proved decisive as the world number one went on to level the match.

Neither player could gain the upper hand in the third set and another tie-break was needed to settle the match.

Karlovic claimed the first two points - the second of which came on Roger's serve - allowing him to carve out three match points. And although the Croatian pushed the first two long, our champ then hit a long return of his own to hand the match to Karlovic.

The outcome opened the way for Rafael Nadal to take over the top spot by winning the Cincinnati Masters. Roger has been ranked No. 1 for a record 235 consecutive weeks, a streak that will end if Nadal — who was scheduled to play Thursday night — adds to his run of five consecutive tournament titles.