Maybe it was the unpredictable wind or the unreliable forehand or the months of unsatisfactory results. Perhaps it was the sweltering mid-afternoon sun.

Whatever the reason, Roger Federer reached his boiling point yesterday. He raised his racket over his head and slammed it to the concrete, a shocking outburst from the five-time winner of the ATP Tour's Stefan Edberg sportsmanship award.

The tirade came during a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals at the Sony Ericsson Open at Key biscayne, Fla. — the latest evidence Federer is in meltdown mode.

"It has been a tough last year or so," a red-eyed Federer said shortly after the match. "I was just frustrated. Didn't feel great. It's just a natural thing I did."

The beneficiary was the No. 3-seeded Djokovic, winner of the 2007 title. He'll play in tomorrow's final against No. 4-seeded Andy Murray, who became the tournament's first British finalist by beating No. 6 Juan Martin del Potro, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.

"If both of us play well, it will be a great match," said Murray, who is 56-7 since July. "I'm hitting the ball well, and I'll try to do the same thing in the final."

AUTO RACING

REUTIMANN ON POLE FOR SAMSUNG 500

David Reutimann gets to start on the front row in Texas.

Reutimann earned the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race on the 1 1/2-mile, high-banked track at Fort Worth, Texas, with a lap of 190.517 mph yesterday. It was Reutimann's second career pole in the No. 00 Toyota owned by Michael Waltrip.

Season points leader Jeff Gordon will start on the outside of front row tomorrow in the Samsung 500 after running a lap of 190.194 mph. Texas is one of two active tracks where the four-time Cup champion with 81 race victories has never won.

BOXING

EX-CHAMP HURTADO WINS TOUGH DECISION

Former World Boxing Association super-lightweight champion Diobelys Hurtado won a narrow split decision over Mexico's Arturo Morua last night in Miami.

Hurtado, who has fought only three times in the past five years, survived a physically intense and bloody 12-round welterweight match at Miccosukee Resort and Gaming against the brawling-minded Morua.

Two judges scored the fight 114-113 for Hurtado and the other had Morua winning by the same margin.

The victory improved Hurtado's record to 41-3-1. Moura fell to 25-12-1.

FREEDIVING

BRITISH WOMAN SETS RECORD AT 314 FEET

A 37-year-old British woman has set a new world record in freediving with a 314-foot ocean plunge on a single breath.

Sara Campbell completed the dive in three minutes, 34 seconds in the Vertical Blue competition Thursday off Long Island in the Bahamas.

Campbell was competing in the constant weight discipline, which requires athletes to descend and surface using only the power of their body and a large fin attached to their feet.

The previous record of 311 feet was held by Natalia Molchanova of Russia.

HOCKEY

LEAFS' WILSON IN LINE FOR U.S. COACHING JOB

Toronto Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson is reportedly in line for another job, as the man leading the United States at next year's Olympic games in Vancouver.

Several reports citing unidentified sources yesterday said the American coach would be Wilson, whose greatest accomplishment on the international stage was coaching the U.S. team to the title at the 1996 World Cup.

An official announcement won't be made by USA Hockey until Monday.

Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke holds the same position for the U.S. Olympic hockey team, making the selection of Wilson a logical choice.

Wilson neither confirmed nor denied the reports yesterday prior to the Leafs game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

AND WHAT'S MORE ...

Javier Aguirre, who was dismissed as coach of Mexico's national soccer team, after it was beaten, 2-0, by the United States in the second round of the 2002 World Cup, was rehired as coach yesterday. ... Richard Petty will make his first foray into the Indianapolis 500 as an owner when he fields a car for John Andretti in next month's race.