ROGER FEDERER finally ran out of steam at the Masters Series event in Cincinnati on Tuesday night, his 23-match winning run ended by Dominik Hrbaty, of Slovakia. The world No 1 lost 1-6, 7-6, 6-4 and experienced defeat for the first time since Gustavo Kuerten beat him in the third round of the French Open in May.

“I had a great run,” Federer said. “The streak has ended. Now I’m going to take a few days off.”

The Swiss player’s winning run was the longest on the men’s tour since Pete Sampras won 24 matches in a row in 1999. Federer had won his previous four tournaments, including Wimbledon, and eight overall this season.

“If I had equalled it (the record), it really wouldn’t have mattered,” he said. “It wasn’t going to do anything to me. I played really well for one set and a half. I missed some opportunities in the second set.”

Federer became the first No 1 seed to lose in the first round at Cincinnati since John McEnroe in 1984. The Swiss has not had much success in the tournament, suffering first-round losses in three of his four appearances.

“I think my game is too fast for him,” said Hrbaty, who has beaten Federer twice in their careers. “He doesn’t have the time to get me running all over the court.” Federer was nearly joined in defeat by Andy Roddick, who struggled to overcome Max Mirnyi, of Belarus, winning 6-7, 7-6, 6-3.

In Montreal, at the WTA tournament, Amélie Mauresmo, of France, recovered to defeat Tamarine Tanasugarn, of Thailand, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 in the second round. The 25-year-old Frenchwoman had to battle back in the third set of the match against Tanasugarn, who is ranked No 51 in the world. “I made too many errors in the second set,” Mauresmo said.

“This match will be useful for me.”

Jennifer Capriati was not at her sharpest but advanced to the third round. On a wet day, the No 3 seed from the United States beat Alina Jidkova, of Russia, 7-6, 7-5.