Fatigued Federer Falls in Cincinnati Masters

World No. 1 Roger Federer looked to be in cruise control mode Tuesday at the Tennis Masters Series Cincinnati before four titles and 23 match wins in a row finally caught up to him.

Federer won the first set off Dominik Hrbaty before slowly losing his much-vaunted shot-making ability and timing in a 1-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 end to his run. season. It was the first time a No. 1 seed had lost a first round match in Cincinnati since Vijay Amritraj beat top seed John McEnroe in 1984.

"I thought I played really well for one set and a half," said Federer on the apparent pseudo-tank job. "The missed opportunities in the second set maybe paid because in the beginning he was, you know, giving me quite a few points. You know, he was missing his shots. And in the second, end of the second and the third, he wasn't. So that's the ones I was calculating with, and he didn't give it.

"So he played well. I'm not too disappointed. People shouldn't feel sorry for me, because I've had a great run. The streak's at its end now. So I can leave, I've got a few more days off. That's the positive side of it."

The 22-year-old Wimbledon champion had cited exhaustion after his win over Andy Roddick in Toronto on Sunday. Apparently it was now time to get some rest for the Olympics.