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Remember when Roger Federer was unstoppable?  In what was considered a tune-up tournament for the upcoming French Open, Federer lost 7-6,7-6 to 27^th ranked Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic in a tournament called the Rome Masters. The loss was Federer’s 6^th of the year, and it’s only May. He’ll hold his No. 1 ranking for now, especially since No. 2 Rafael Nadal also got booted from the same tournament earlier in the week (second round defeat by Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero.

On the distaff side, keep an eye on 17^th ranked Dinara Safina, who knocked Serena Williams out of the German Open, ending Serena’s 17-match winning streak. The win was no fluke, especially when you consider that Dinara sent top-ranked Justine Henin packing from the same tournament the day before. This does not bode well for defending French Open champion Henin with that Grand Slam event only about two weeks away. Ph, and in case you were wondering, Yes, Dinara has a brother who is well known in tennis circles. He is of course Marat Safin, two-time grand slam champion. Got an opinion about pro tennis? Post it here and I’ll be sure to respond.