Fish stunned Federer at Pacific Life Open

Mardy Fish pulled off a whale of an upset, stunning world No. 1 Roger Federer 6-3, 6-2 to reach the final of the ATP Masters Series Pacific Life Open on Saturday. Fish next faces Australian open champion Novak Djokovic, who ousted defending champion Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2. Djokovic, the third seed, turned the tables on the second-seeded Spaniard, who beat him in the final here last year. Fish, ranked 98th in the world, needed just 63 minutes to roll past the Swiss superstar, who mustered just one break point and couldn’t convert it. The defeat leaves Federer still searching for his first tournament victory of 2008, the first time since 2000 that the 12-time Grand Slam champion has gone so far into a season without a title. Fish sent a shock through the stadium-court crowd with his first break of Federer in the second game. He held for 3-0 and never looked back, taking the opening set in 39 minutes. The American opened the second set with a break — firing a stinging service return on break point — and broke again in the fifth game for a 4-1 lead. Federer fended off two match points against his own serve in the seventh game, but Fish took a 40-0 lead in the next game to give himself three more chances, and claimed the unlikely triumph when Federer netted a forehand. Fish had lost all five of his previous encounters with Federer, winning just one set in the process. “I’ve had a great record against him, always controlled matches against him,’’ Federer said. “Today was different. He played great today, so congratulations. Fantastic.’’ Fish became the lowest-ranked player to beat Federer since then 101stranked Richard Gasquet of france beat him at Monte Carlo in 2005. However, Federer said that was misleading, since Fish has been ranked as high as 17th in the world in March of 2004. “We all know how good Mardy can be,’’ Federer said. While Fish had to battle through five tough rounds to reach the semifinals, Federer enjoyed a first round bye and then advanced from the quarters on a walkover when his scheduled opponent, German Tommy Haas, withdrew with a sinus infection. “I was a bit deflated yesderday,’’ Federer said. “I was ready to play against Tommy. But that’s not an excuse. Mardy played incredible.’’