Roger Federer lost for the first time since May against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga by 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (3) in a dramatic collapse in the Rogers Cup quarterfinals on Friday. Federer led 5-1 in the third set then lost his serve twice as Tsonga took a 6-5 lead with the sellout-crowd of 11,490 at Uniprix Stadium in a frenzy. Federer had to save three match points to force a tiebreaker, and Tsonga used two aces to take a 6-3 lead then Federer double-faulted on match point. The world's top-ranked player saw the end of his 22-match winning streak, which included titles at Madrid, the French Open and Wimbledon, where he claimed a record 15th career Grand Slam crown. Federer took a break after Wimbledon while his wife gave birth to twin girls, and there were doubts about his form coming into the Rogers Cup. But he looked sharp until the end of the third set, when his first serve deserted him and he hit several groundstrokes wild. The seventh-seeded Tsonga advanced to a semifinal on Saturday against third-seeded Andy Murray. The Frenchman leads their career series 2-1. Murray ended Nikolay Davydenko's 12-match winning run with a 6-2, 6-4 victory. Davydenko, seeded eighth, came into the tournament following wins at Hamburg and Umag. Murray's string of service games won finished at 19 when Davydenko broke him in the fifth game of the first set, but he has still yet to drop a set in the tournament. “Every time I've played against him, you never feel like you're playing your best tennis because he takes the ball so early,” Murray said of Davydenko. “He rushes you. Pretty much every rally, he plays very aggressively. But I had my game plan and I did it really, really well in terms of the way I struck the ball.” Murray improved to 5-4 against Davydenko to make his third trip to the Rogers Cup semifinals. Last year in Toronto, he lost to eventual champion Rafael Nadal. He was also in the semis in 2006. Safina sparkles Kim Clijsters' comeback hit its first obstacle when she couldn't keep up with world No. 1 Dinara Safina in a 6-2, 7-5 quarterfinal loss at the Western & Southern Financial Group Open on Friday. Fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva also advanced with a 6-2, 6-1 win over eighth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki. It's the fifth semifinal this year for the Russian, who lost to Serena Williams at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon in semifinals. It won't happen again this week. Serena and Venus Williams were bounced from the tournament on Thursday. Safina broke seven times to reach the semifinals and finish Clijsters' uplifting week back on the court. With both Williams sisters gone, Clijsters' return became the talk of the Open. The former No. 1 took a break in 2007, married, and gave birth to daughter Jada, then set about returning to the game at a top level. While she was away, Clijsters watched one player improve more than any other: Safina. “I really felt today that Dinara played some of her best tennis that I've seen,” said Clijsters, who won six of their seven previous matches. “I think by far that's the best she's ever played against me.” No mother has knocked off a No. 1-ranked player since Evonne Goolagong Cawley beat Chris Evert in the finals of the Virginia Slims of Boston in 1978. Thirty-one years later, Clijsters got a good start at it, pushing the pace and getting a service break for a 2-0 lead. It unraveled fast. Safina used her powerful forehand to her advantage, hitting shots that eluded Clijsters' reach. She dominated the rest of the set, running off 24 of the last 31 points. For the first time all week, Clijsters looked like a player who had been off the tour for two years. “I know exactly what to expect from her,” Safina said. “For me, she's one of the best players. I thought I was very aggressive today and didn't let her dictate too much.” Clijsters started the second set by pushing the pace and getting another quick break to pull ahead 2-0. Same beginning, similar ending. Safina broke her serve three times in a row, the last on Clijsters' double fault to take a 6-5 lead. Disappointed but not discouraged. Clijsters played well overall in her four matches during the week, surpassing her expectations in some ways. “Obviously so far, it's working,” she said. “I had really good results, and feel my level here has risen.” So much that she was already aching for another shot at No. 1. “I kind of feel like I want to go out there and do it all over again,”Clijsters said.
