KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — Maybe it was the unpredictable wind or the unreliable forehand or the months of unsatisfactory results.
Perhaps it was the sweltering midafternoon sun.
Whatever the reason, Roger Federer reached his boiling point Friday. He raised his racket over his head and slammed it to the concrete, a shocking outburst from the five-time winner of the ATP Tour’s sportsmanship award.
The tirade came during a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open — the latest evidence that Federer is in meltdown mode. “It has been a tough last year or so,” a red-eyed Federer said shortly after the match.
He fell behind 2-0 in the third set, and when he netted an easy shot to start the next game, he mangled his racket with his most forceful forehand of the day.
“I was just frustrated,” Federer said. “Didn’t feel great. It’s just a natural thing I did.”
Pitching a fit failed to help. Federer lost the next two games as the match slipped away despite support from a sympathetic crowd.
The beneficiary was the No. 3-seeded Djokovic. He’ll play in the final Sunday against No. 4-seeded Andy Murray, who became the tournament’s first British finalist by beating No. 6 Juan Martin del Potro 6-1, 5-7, 6-2. Murray improved to 56-7 since last July.
Top-ranked Serena Williams will bid for a record sixth Key Biscayne title today against No. 11 Victoria Azarenka.
Federer now heads to Europe to play on clay, his least-favorite surface. Or maybe it’s now hard court, where he failed to win a title during the January-to-March season.
