Teen Nadal surprises Swiss Federer
MIAMI, March 28 (Reuters) -- World number one Roger Federer's 12-match winning streak ended when he crashed 6-3 6-3 to Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal in the Nasdaq-100 Open third round.
Before he ran into Nadal, 17, the Swiss had won 28 of 29 matches stretching back to the Masters Cup last November, including his Australian Open victory.
Former world No, 1's Lleyton Hewitt and Jennifer Capriati were also shown the exit door on a day of upsets in the Miami tournament.
Hewitt suffered a 6-4 7-5 defeat by Romania's Andrei Pavel while women's fourth seed Capriati was stunned 6-2 6-4 by Greece's Eleni Daniilidou.
Nadal and Tim Henman (who defeated Federer in Rotterdam in February) are the only men to have beaten the world number one in four months.
The Spanish teenager showed no fear, breaking serve early in the first set and hitting with relentless aggression until Federer's serve cracked again at 2-3 in the second.
Nadal, seeded 32, then served the match out with an assurance which belied his years.
Second seed Venus Williams was let off the hook by Daniela Hantuchova when the Slovak served for the first set three times only to lose it on a tiebreak.
American Williams made the most of the reprieve, romping through the second for a 7-6 6-2 win.
Sister Serena, top seed in the women's draw, also flirted with danger before overcoming Russian Elena Likhovtseva 6-1 4-6 6-3 to secure a place in the last 16.
Serena was playing only her second match after being sidelined for eight months with knee problems and looked rusty against the world number 42.
"I didn't play very well," said the American. "I was giving a lot of stuff away out there today. I never felt like I was going to lose though. It was always like, 'when am I going to win?'
"I'm glad I had that experience because I have been a little short of match-play lately. There is nothing like match play to torque (condition) your body in different ways. With each match I'm getting better."
She next plays 17th-seed Maria Sharapova for a place in the quarterfinals.
