ranked Roger Federer suffered his worst defeat in almost three years when he was routed by American Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-2 in the Pacific Life Open semifinals on Saturday. By the same score, Novak Djokovic powered past defending champion Rafael Nadal. Federer, the Swiss star who has seemed almost invincible for most of the past five years, has looked vulnerable so far this season. He hasn't reached a final and has lost three times, including defeats by eventual champion Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals, and by Andy Murray this month in the first round at Dubai. Federer, who was slowed by mononucleosis early in the season, doesn't seem overly concerned. He breezed through his first three matches at Indian Wells without losing a set, then had a walkover in the quarterfinals when Tommy Haas withdrew because of a sinus infection. “Today it's hard to judge, because Mardy took everything on the rise; not many rallies out there,” said Federer, a three-time champion in the desert tournament. “But all in all, I'm happy with the way the week (went) for me. Obviously, the walkover is sort of an awkward situation, but you have to take them when they come around. Federer said the unexpected day off when Haas pulled out on Friday may have thrown him a bit off his rhythm, but said Fish simply played “incredibly.” “When he wanted to attack, everything worked,” Federer said. “He would never miss, really, when I needed a miss once in a while.” He said it's impossible to not lose such matches occasionally, adding: “I'm surprised myself that it hasn't happened more in the last five years. Today, Mardy was really impossible to beat, it almost looked like.” Fish, ranked 98th, joined the world's top three players in the semifinals unseeded and unheralded. Fish had downed No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko and No. 7 David Nalbandian, as well as two-time former champion Lleyton Hewitt but he'd lost all five previous matches against Federer, including here in 2004 and 2005. He jumped to a 3-0 lead and missed a break point for 4-0 in taking the first set. He broke Federer to start the second set, and the Swiss star had to save two match points at 5-1 down before Fish, the lowest ranked semifinalist in nine years, served out, ending Federer's 41-match win streak against Americans dating to 2003. Nadal, ranked No. 2 to Djokovic's No. 3, was out to repeat last year's final result but struggled on serve and lost the last four games to the Australian Open champion, who hit 22 winners to Nadal's 11. The Spaniard broke Djokovic in the third game but the Serb hit back immediately and broke again for 5-3 on a net cord. Nadal asked for an injury timeout for a blister on his left foot and was annoyed when it wasn't granted by the umpire, who rightfully told the Spaniard he had to wait until it was his turn to serve. Djokovic closed the set with his fifth ace then Nadal received treatment. In the second set, a forehand winner gave Djokovic the break in the fifth game, starting a four-game roll he would finish with an unreturnable serve after 87 minutes. __
