Federer upset by Fish 6-3, 6-2 in Pacific Life Open

Mardy Fish returns shot to Roger Federer during their semifinal tennis match at the Pacific Life Open on Saturday in Indian Wells, California. Fish upset Federer 6-3, 6-2. PHOTO: AP

Mardy Fish pulled off a whale of an upset on Saturday, stunning world No. 1 Roger Federer 6-3, 6-2 to reach the final of the ATP Masters Series Pacific Life Open.

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 the year, the first time since 2000 that the 12-time Grand Slam champion has gone so far into a season without a title.

Fish faces Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who ousted defending champion Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2.

Fish a shiver 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.

"This wasn't, obviously, Roger's best day. But hopefully I had a little something to do with that," Fish said.

"I put the pressure extremely -- from the word go -- on him. It was a dream start to go up 3-0, and have a couple break points there at 3-0. He had a break point against my second serve game when I was 2-0. That was a huge game to get through that," Fish said.

Federer he just couldn't find an answer to Fish's go-for-broke approach.

"He was just trying to go for everything, and it worked," Federer said. "I didn't even play particularly bad on the break points ... Every time he read the right side on the serve, and he kept the ball in play. When he wanted to attack, everything worked."

"That was just impressive by his side, and I couldn't do much to control it. I didn't even think he served particularly well. It was just impossible to return his first serve, which it normally is anyway. But I couldn't get into his second serves, and that was the disappointing part about today," Federer said.

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 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.

"I was more nervous, maybe, than I ever have been serving with two breaks," Fish said. "Usually I'm relatively comfortable with two breaks in a set.

"I kept telling myself that there's somebody else on the other side of the court. You just try to blank out who it was and just try to play the ball and keep control of what I could control on my side," Fish said.

Fish 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 the lowest-ranked player to beat Federer since then 101st-ranked 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.