Thu Aug 14 13:50:22 2008

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Blake ousts Federer from Olympics; Williams sisters out of singles

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Beijing, China (Sports Network) - James Blake has finally slayed the dragon.

The eighth-seeded Blake had been 0-8 against Super Swiss Roger Federer going into Thursday's tennis quarterfinal match at the Olympics, but the American pulled out a 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) victory.

It was a night filled with highs and lows for the Americans. On the women's side, the Williams sisters were bounced from singles play. Fourth-seeded Serena was taken down by fifth seed Elena Dementieva of Russia, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Seventh-seeded Venus, bidding for a third Olympic gold medal, was beaten by China's Li Na, 7-5, 7-5.

The start of the tennis session was delayed more than four hours by rain, but Blake was steadfast in his first win against Federer, who will fall from his perch atop the rankings next week when Spaniard Rafael Nadal takes over that slot.

Federer though won't get a chance for Olympic gold, as Blake surged ahead in the tiebreaker with a fabulous passing shot before falling to his knees in elation at the end.

"This is unbelievable," said Blake. "It's not very often you get to say you beat the No.1 player in the world anytime, but to do it at the Olympics with USA on your chest, I'm so proud to be part of this team."

Blake's semifinal encounter will be against 12th-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu.

It was an amazing accomplishment for Blake, considering he'd won just one set against Federer prior to Thursday night.

"Maybe if you play him enough times he's bound to have an off day," said Blake. "He didn't play his best today, but I felt like I served well when I needed to, especially in that tiebreaker."

A break of serve in the ninth game of the first set sent Blake on his way to the lead. Federer dropped the first three games of the next set, but rallied from a 5-2 deficit to force the tiebreaker. The problem was 56 unforced errors set back Federer.

The other semifinal will be between Nadal, the second seed, and third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic. Nadal powered past Austrian Jurgen Melzer, 6-0, 6-4, while Djokovic rallied to beat Frenchman Gael Monfils, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Also on the women's side, ninth seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia beat France's Sybille Bammer, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Zvonareva will play Dementieva in the semis.

Second seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia was set to play sixth-seeded Russian Dinara Safina in the other quarterfinal, but rain put a halt to the match before it was supposed to start well after 1 a.m. local time. It was postponed to Friday.