NEW YORK -- Right from the start, Roger Federer looked very little like, well, the Roger Federer who routinely reached the final weekend at Grand Slam tournaments. Steven Wright Red Sox Jersey . In the opening game of his fourth-round match at the U.S. Open, the owner of 17 major titles got passed at the net twice, sailed a backhand long, then missed two forehands to get broken. In the second game, the man who has spent more weeks ranked No. 1 than anyone else dumped a backhand into the net, then shanked two other backhands several feet wide. No longer the dominant presence he once was, Federer lost in the round of 16 at Flushing Meadows for the first time in a decade, surprisingly beaten 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-4 by 19th-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain on Monday night. "I kind of self-destructed, which is very disappointing," said Federer, who made 43 unforced errors and managed to convert only 2 of 16 break points. "It was a frustrating performance." Only the latest in a series. This caps a poor-by-his-standards Grand Slam season for Federer, whose record trophy collection includes five from the U.S. Open. He exited in the semifinals at the Australian Open in January, the quarter-finals at the French Open in early June, and the second round of Wimbledon -- against a player ranked 116th, to boot -- in late June. That ended Federers record run of reaching at least the quarter-finals at 36 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. Now, thanks to Robredo, Federer has a new, unwanted streak: Two consecutive losses before the quarter-finals at majors. This is the first season since 2002 that Federer did not reach at least one final at any of the four Grand Slam tournaments. That year also marked the last time Federer was ranked lower than he is now at No. 7. "The story of my life: When I lose, people are shell-shocked to see me play this way," Federer said. Heading into Monday, the buzz at the U.S. Open was all about looking ahead to a potential quarter-final between Federer and his nemesis, Rafael Nadal. Owners of a combined 29 Grand Slam trophies, they have played each other 31 times -- including in eight major finals -- but never in New York. Federers loss means they wont fix that gap in their rivalry this week. When Federers match was ending, the second-seeded Nadal was just getting started in Arthur Ashe Stadium, and the Spaniard wound up improving to 19-0 on hard courts in 2013 with a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 victory over 22nd-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Nadal, who won the 2010 U.S. Open but missed it last year with a left knee injury, faced only one break point Monday, and Kohlschreiber blew it by putting an overhead smash into the net. Nadal has not lost any of his 56 service game so far through four matches. "I dont want to lie. Happy for that. But I felt at the beginning today, I didnt serve my best," Nadal said. "In the next sets, I am very happy the way that I served. I was able to win a lot of points and ... start a lot of points in a good position." He and Federer have met in four finals at the French Open, three at Wimbledon and one at the Australian Open, but theyve never met in any round at the U.S. Open. "Didnt happen. (Doesnt) mean cannot happen in the future. Well see. Hopefully," the 27-year-old Nadal said. "But is true that we are getting older, so the chances are less today than five years ago." At age 32, Federer has struggled with a bad back and experimented with a larger racket head, and all along, hes had far more trouble winning matches than he usually does -- particularly against the sort of players he barely broke a sweat against at his peak. That this defeat came against Robredo made it all the more stunning. Not that Robredo is a slouch. Hes been ranked as high as No. 5, albeit back in 2006, and this is his seventh trip to the quarter-finals at a major. He made it that far at this years French Open by doing something no man had done since 1927, winning three matches in a row after dropping the first two sets of each. But consider these other facts about Robredo and this matchup: Not only was he 0-10 against Federer until Monday, hed managed to win only three of the 27 previous sets theyd played. And before Monday, Robredos record in the fourth round of the U.S. Open was 0-7. Robredo missed time in 2011 and 2012 because of left leg problems that required surgery, and his ranking fell below 400th. "Roger, when he was No. 1, (compared) to the Roger right now," Robredo said, "hes not maybe (playing) with the same confidence, no?" Federer agreed with that assessment, acknowledging that he has doubts about his play these days. He also was asked whether Robredo -- who is 0-6 against Nadal -- tried anything different this time around. "No, he didnt. Pretty simple. No surprises," Federer said. "He didnt serve-and-volley or chip-and-charge. He stood back the way he usually does. He kick-served the way he usually does." Fans tried to get Federer going, singing, "Lets go, Roger, lets go!" or simply chanting his name. He even got support in Spanish, with one fan yelling, "Vamos, Roger! Youre the best!" Heres the way Robredo described the atmosphere: When he walked out onto the court before the match, "it was like 2 per cent of noise," while when Federer arrived at Louis Armstrong Stadium, it sounded "like a concert." Federer originally was supposed to face Robredo in Ashe -- the main, 23,000-capacity court -- but hours of heavy rain in the afternoon muddled the schedule, including prompting the tournament to postpone two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenkas match against 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic until Tuesday. In the three womens matches that were played Monday, No. 10 Roberta Vinci and unseeded Flavia Pennetta set up an all-Italian quarter-final with victories. Vinci beat yet another woman from Italy, 136th-ranked qualifier Camila Giorgi, 6-4, 6-2, while Pennetta defeated No. 21 Simona Halep of Romania 6-2, 7-6 (3). Azarenka or Ivanovic will face Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, who got past American wild-card entry Alison Riske, a 23-year-old who grew up in Pittsburgh, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. In mens action, No. 4 David Ferrer of Spain, the runner-up to Nadal at the French Open this year, moved on by beating No. 18 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3). In the quarter-finals, Ferrer will play No. 8 Richard Gasquet, who entered the day 1-15 in fourth-round Grand Slam matches but erased a match point and withstood 39 aces from No. 10 Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., to win 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-6 (9), 7-5 on Court 17. A long line of fans snaked across the grounds when Federer-Robredo was moved from Ashe to much smaller Armstrong, which holds about 10,000 spectators and has a lot less room separating the playing surface from the stands. Federer, accustomed to playing in Ashe, last competed in Armstrong in 2006. He said that was not a factor in Mondays outcome, though. The blame, instead, belonged with his inability to hit his strokes the way he wanted. Federer was particularly ineffective when he had chances on Robredos serve. Time and again, Federer would get an opening, a chance to begin the long climb back into the match. And he kept letting those opportunities slip by. "We all know the way he plays, how easy he can do everything," Robredo said. "But I think the difference today was the break points conversion." Thats true. Robredo went 4 for 7; Federers poor play on break chances included 0 for 12 in the last two sets. Soaked with perspiration, Federer flubbed a backhand to waste the last of five break points he had in the fourth game of what turned out to be the final set. He kicked the offending ball, a rare sign of frustration from the generally unflappable Federer. Well, unflappable against pretty much anyone other than Nadal, that is. "Ive definitely got to go back to work and come back stronger. Get rid of this loss now as quick as I can, forget about it, because thats not how I want to play from here on," Federer said. "I want to play better. I know I can." Wade Boggs Red Sox Jersey . On Sunday, hell attempt to become the youngest driver to win a NASCAR Nationwide race on Iowas short track. The 20-year-old Blaney wont be the only kid pushing a podium finish. Christian Vazquez Red Sox Jersey .C. -- Marcus Paige and his North Carolina teammates have endured so many wild swings -- big wins, surprising losses, NCAA drama -- that no one can blame their Hall of Fame coach for wondering whats next. http://www.officialredsoxfanstore.com/authentic-chris-sale-red-sox-jersey/ . The actual winners on transfer deadline day are those clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City who were well prepared and managed to get their main incoming business done well ahead of the transfer window closing. Tottenham were able to add seven players by spending over 100 million pounds and also ensured maximum return for the Gareth Bale transfer to Real Madrid by managing the move superbly.Despite having a starting rotation riddled with injuries, the Atlanta Braves have still managed to ride their stellar starting pitching to top spot in the TSN.ca MLB Power Rankings, ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland Athletics. Early-season surprises can shift the rankings dramatically, but the Braves have been getting lights-out stuff from Aaron Harang, Ervin Santana, Alex Wood and Julio Teheran. The Brewers, ranked at 12 in the preseason, are up to two, with their own impressive pitching, including closer Francisco Rodriguez, who is striking people out, despite decreased velocity. Like the Braves, the Oakland As have injuries to deal with in their starting rotation, but they have also received four strong starts from 30-year-old journeyman Jesse Chavez. If Chavez is for real, he could be one of the great stories of this season. Moving from 22 in the preseason to four, the Colorado Rockies have been raking like nothing else at home. As a team, they have a .985 OPS at Coors Field, compared to just .662 on the road, but they also have the second-best run differential in the National League. The Toronto Blue Jays are one of the pleasant surprises, following a disastrous 20113 season, and decent pitching has lifted them from 25 in the preseason to 12. Johnny Pesky Red Sox Jersey. Coming into the year, the rankings were not optimistic for the New York Yankees, pegging the pinstripers at 16, but early returns from starting pitchers Michael Pineda and Masahiro Tanaka have given the Yankees hope, despite a lineup full of holes. The Yankees rivals, the Boston Red Sox, have stumbled out of the gate and, as a result, are at 21, after opening the season in second spot. Hopes were higher for the Cleveland Indians too, ranked 11 coming into the season, but they sit at 23, with some of their highly-touted young players struggling. Following last years breakout season, the Pittsburgh Pirates came into the year ranked fifth, but quiet bats leave them at 24 with this update. Finally, no team can compare to the Arizona Diamondbacks for disappointment. They werent necessarily going to be great, ranked 19th coming into the season, but they are on pace for 35 wins. They even found a way to get ranked below the Houston Astros! Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '