Federer loses to Djokovic; Murray advances at Sony

April 4, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) — Maybe it was the unpredictable wind or the unreliable forehand or the months of unsatisfactory results. Perhaps it was the sweltering mid-afternoon sun.

Whatever the reason, Roger Federer reached his boiling point Friday. He raised his racket over his head and slammed it to the concrete, a shocking outburst from the five-time winner of the ATP Tour’s Stefan Edberg sportsmanship award.

The tirade came during a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals at the Sony Ericsson Open — the latest evidence Federer is in meltdown mode.

“It has been a tough last year or so,” a red-eyed Federer said shortly after the match.

He fell behind 2-love in the third set, and when he netted an easy shot in the next game, he mangled his racket with his most forceful forehand of the day.

“I was just frustrated,” Federer said. “Didn’t feel great. It’s just a natural thing I did.”

Pitching a fit failed to help. Federer lost the next two games as the match slipped away despite support from a sympathetic crowd.

The beneficiary was the No. 3-seeded Djokovic, winner of the 2007 title. He’ll play in the final Sunday against No. 4-seeded Andy Murray, who became the tournament’s first British finalist by beating No. 6 Juan Martin del Potro 6-1, 5-7, 6-2. Murray improved to 56-7 since last July.

Top-ranked Serena Williams will bid for a record sixth Key Biscayne title Saturday against No. 11 Victoria Azarenka.

Federer was betrayed by his forehand, long touted as the game’s best. It was the biggest culprit during the match’s pivotal stretch bridging the second and third sets, when he lost 24 of 28 points and seven consecutive games.

Djokovic said his tactics contributed to Federer’s frustration with his forehand.

“I tried to change pace and play fast, and then play a bit slower with more spin,” Djokovic said. “He usually expects a ball on the backhand side, because that’s where the players try to play him. But I’m not giving him any consistency on one side so he can really be comfortable.”