Rome: World no.1 Roger Federer booked a flight to Germany after facing a shock defeat at the hands of Radek Stepanek at the Rome Masters.

Federer, a favourite after the exit of three-time champion Nadal in the second round, found himself a victim of errors in his loss to Stepanek 6-7 (4-7), 6-7 (7-9).

Federer was plagued by a poor day on the clay event where he has lost two finals.

"It was very important to play aggressively," said Stepanek. “Once he plays his game he can move you around the court. You have to put pressure on him, and it paid off."

Federer seemed determined to put a bad cay out of mind, moving onto Hamburg where he defends a title from Sunday.

"It's just disappointing the way I lost today," said the 12-time Grand Slam champion. "I wish I could have played better.

"I played so poorly on the big points. It's a tough loss."

The Czech did himself no favours with a wildly pro-Federer crowd as he engaged in his distasteful "worm dance" in victory - undulating his body onto the clay then ripping off his bandana and waving it around.

He next plays Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic after the third seed advanced when Spain's Nicolas Almagro retired injured trailing 6-1, 1-0 after a walkover in the previous round.

Source : IANS