Original Blog Entry: Federer falls to #3 for the first time since 2003

NBey6 — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:19:29 GMT

Updated: July 5, 2010, 9:43 AM ET

Federer drops to 3rd after quarters loss

Associated Press

WIMBLEDON, England -- Roger Federer fell to No. 3 in the ATP rankings Monday, the first time since November 2003 he's been that low.

The 16-time Grand Slam champion's quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon, following seven consecutive appearances in the final, dropped him one spot.

He trails No. 1 Rafael Nadal and new No. 2 Novak Djokovic.

Federer was No. 1 earlier this season, but he was overtaken in the rankings by Nadal on June 7, after the French Open.

Nadal won his fifth title at Roland Garros, while Federer lost in the quarterfinals there, too. That left Federer one week shy of tying Pete Sampras' career record of 286 total weeks at No. 1.

Nadal's second title at Wimbledon, a year after missing the tournament because of bad knees, increased his lead atop the rankings. Runner-up Tomas Berdych, who upset Federer at the All England Club, climbed from 13th to a career-high No. 8 by reaching his first Grand Slam final.

Andy Roddick, who lost the 2009 Wimbledon title match to six-time champion Federer, dropped two spots to No. 9 after losing in the fourth round. The man who beat him, Yen-hsun Lu of Taiwan, leaped 40 spots to No. 42.

Like Nadal, Wimbledon women's champion Serena Williams remains at No. 1. But her older sister, Venus, dropped from No. 2 to No. 4. Jelena Jankovic moved to second, with Caroline Wozniacki third.

Vera Zvonareva's run to her first major final allowed her to rise from No. 21 to No. 9.

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