Federer falls to unseeded Stepanek at Rome Masters

World number one Roger Federer's hopes of winning his first Rome Masters were dashed today when he was knocked out at the quarter-final stage 7-6 7-6 by unseeded Czech Radek Stepanek.

The top-seeded Swiss lost the first set in the tiebreak and twice came back from a break down in the second before being undone in another tiebreak. Federer's elimination follows world number two Rafael Nadal's shock second-round exit on Wednesday. - Reuters