There is a Swiss player in the semi-finals of the BNL D’Italia Masters and it is not the one whose face adorns millions of bedroom walls and whose name is carved on almost all the world’s leading tennis trophies. Roger Federer was beaten for the sixth time in what is becoming an extraordinary year, with Radek Stepanek celebrating by performing an impromptu calisthenic routine in the dirt of the Foro Italico. Thankfully for Switzerland, Stan’s the man.

Stanislas Wawrinka reached his first Masters Series semi-final and entered the top 20 for the first time on the back of a three-set victory over James Blake, the eternal American underachiever. Wawrinka obviously expected to be joined today in the last four by the man in whose shadow he has been allowed to develop into a player of considerable promise, but Federer had appeared distracted here and when his backhand goes, it goes in a big way.

Stepanek may not be everyone’s cup of tea - Tim Henman did not dislike many people on the tour but had a loathing of the Czech – for he has an in-your-face manner that aggravates opponents and irks the crowd, although nothing should diminish the impact of the 7-6, 7-6 victory in which he came from behind in each tie-break to take another significant bite out of Federer’s stature.

The world No 1 has begun to look anything but. He knew that Stepanek favoured taking the initiative, relying on the surprise element and cunning improvisation, but his inability to prevail, having secured a foothold in successive tie-breaks, spoke of a player increasingly unable to call on his best game when he most needs it.

Stepanek preferred to look at it from the perspective of the glass being half-full. “Definitely, Roger doesn’t have the results this year but other players are getting better,” he said. “I didn’t want to play many rallies, I wanted to keep everything short so he did not have time to get into a rhythm. Otherwise, you are just running around the court like crazy.”

This result will provoke a further period of soul-searching because with every defeat on clay, Federer appears less and less likely to end his drought at the French Open, the only grand-slam tournament to have eluded him.

“I would be more worried if I were to lose against a guy playing real clay-court tennis,” the Swiss said. “This was a different match. It’s like when you lose against [Ivo] Karlovic because this is a guy who gives you very little rhythm. When you come off the court you’re a little rattled because he didn’t allow to you play your game. I still think I should have had it within me to win today.”

For Wawrinka, who meets Andy Roddick today for a place in the final, things could not look sunnier. He has beaten two former world No 1s, Marat Safin and Juan Carlos Ferrero, he sent Andy Murray into one of his infernal rages – there may be another when the British No 1 realises what an opportunity he missed here – and, having reached the semi-finals in Barcelona last week, Wawrinka is on the most significant roll of his career. This championship is preparing to write a new name on its trophy tomorrow – why should it not be his?

The extent to which Rafael Nadal, the three-times champion here, was in terrible pain from a blistered foot was confirmed yesterday. A syringe was required to draw blood from the affected area, such a painful experience that Nadal was moved to bite hard on a towel to stop himself from screaming in agony. He was back on the golf course yesterday – in a buggy – so things are looking up and the Spaniard intends to play the German Open in Hamburg next week.