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Erratic Federer crashes out

ROME: Roger Federer was sensationally knocked out in the third round of the Rome Masters by Filippo Volandri on Thursday.

Federer uncharacteristically made 44 unforced errors in his shock 6-2, 6-4 defeat to the Italian wildcard ranked 53rd in the world.

Defeat means Federer has now gone four tournaments without winning a title, his longest stretch without a trophy since he became world number one in February 2004.

"I played shocking," was Federer's brutal assessment.

"I just couldn't get into the game. I was serving horrendous, and you don't get any free points on clay if you are not serving well.

"It is very disappointing to go out at this stage of the tournament, but it does happen in tennis.

Praises Volandri

"Everyone's talking about me, but give credit to Filippo. He played a great match."

Asked if he could take any positives from his shock exit, Federer replied: "It gives me more time to practise for (Roland Garros)."

Volandri said it was a dream come true to defeat Federer on home soil.

"It's more than a dream, more than I could have hoped for," said the 25-year-old.

Too little too late

Earlier on Thursday, American third seed Andy Roddick was bundled out 6-0, 6-4 by Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela.

Roddick, a semifinalist here in 2002, struggled with his serve and made 27 unforced errors.

Roddick admitted he gave himself too much to do after his poor first set display.

"I dug a hole for myself in the first 10 minutes," said the 24-year-old.

"After that it was an uphill battle. I started playing better in the second set, but it was too little, too late."

"I played the perfect match," said the 27-year-old, Chela, a winner of four ATP titles.

Nadal feels dizzy

Meanwhile defending champion Rafael Nadal went to a hospital for a checkup on Thursday morning following a dizzy spell.

"It was the same as yesterday," Nadal's spokesman Benito Barbadillo said. "He was just feeling a little dizzy, that's it."

Paes-Damm duo advances

In the doubles section, Leander Paes and Martin Damm moved up after their second round opponents James Blake and Mardy Fish withdrew before the match.

The results:

At Rome (Rome Masters): Third round: Filippo Volandri bt Roger Federer 6-2, 6-4; Juan Ignacio Chela bt Andy Roddick 6-0, 6-4; Fernando Gonzalez bt Nicolas Massu 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4; Tomas Berdych bt Jose Acasuso 6-1, 6-2; Nikolay Davydenko bt Potito Starace 4-6, 6-2, 7-5; Tommy Robredo bt Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-2.

Second round: Starace bt Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2, 3-6, 6-2; Davydenko bt Marat Safin 7-6(4), 7-5; Simon bt Guillermo Canas 7-6(4), 6-4.

At Berlin (WTA German Open): Third round: Svetlana Kuznetsova bt Martina Muller 6-3, 6-2; Ana Ivanovic bt Alona Bondarenko 6-3, 5-0 retd; Nadia Petrova bt Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-3.

At Prague (WTA Prague Open): Second round: Camille Pin bt Yvonne Meusburger 6-4, 6-4; Akiko Morigami bt Sequera Milagros 6-1, 6-3; Dominika Cibulkova bt Andrea Hlavackova 6-1, 6-3; Victoria Azarenka bt Nathalie Dechy 7-6(3), 6-1. — Agencies

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