Sharapova is pushed out

NEW YORK -- The playground came to professional tennis Saturday.

Each missed first serve brought the returner a step closer to the service line -- a psychological ploy to put more pressure on an already erratic server.

Except this windswept playground happened to be the U.S. Open and the kids playing cat and mouse were second-seeded Maria Sharapova and unheralded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.

At the end, Radwanska created the upset of the tournament, defeating Sharapova in the third round, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, in 2 hours 6 minutes. It was the first time the second-seeded woman at the Open lost before the fourth round since Andrea Jaeger did so in 1981.

The departure of the defending women’s champion was the focal point of an active day on which top-seeded Roger Federer lost a set for the first time in three matches but prevailed against the hard-serving American wild-card entrant, 6-foot-9 John Isner, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.

Isner had 18 aces, nine coming in the first set. But Federer seemed invigorated by the challenge.

“Yeah, I enjoyed it actually, believe it or not,” he said. “Because of the challenge of the serve. I love playing guys like this. You don’t get to play big servers like this today, every day. I’ve played the kick servers, the guy who just keeps it to my backhand all day.”

Fifth-seeded Andy Roddick joined Federer in the fourth round, defeating Thomas Johansson of Sweden, 6-3, 6-2, 6-0.

Also reaching the fourth round was James Blake, fast becoming known as the king of late night at the Open. Blake, seeded sixth, beat Stefan Koubek of Austria, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1, in a match that began Saturday night and finished a little after 1 a.m. Sunday.

Blake’s previous match went past midnight, too. In that one, which started Thursday night, he needed nearly 3 1/2 hours to get past Fabrice Santoro for his first career fifth-set victory.

Another American, 18-year-old wild-card entrant Donald Young, came much closer to the final 16 than anyone could have anticipated, putting up a fight Saturday before losing to Feliciano Lopez of Spain, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 7-5. This was the best Grand Slam result for Young, who received a walkover in the second round when Richard Gasquet withdrew because of illness.

That left another 18-year-old alone in the spotlight.

Radwanska, a former French Open and Wimbledon juniors champion, reached the fourth round despite dropping eight straight games to lose the second set and fall behind, 0-2, in the third.

But the Krakow teenager, who is ranked a career-high No. 32, received a huge assist from the misfiring Sharapova, who had 12 double faults and committed 49 unforced errors.

Then there was the crowding of the service line.

“I knew that she doesn’t like it if somebody is moving if she is serving,” Radwanska said. “She was also nervous with this, so I was trying to do something like this.”

Sharapova was magnanimous and introspective in defeat.

“It’s always tough,” she said. “No matter if you lose in the semis, whatever round it is. But especially being the defending champion, it’s tough. Definitely not an easy day at the office for me.

“I could sit here all day long and come up with excuses and say how bad I played. But at the end of the day, my opponent won the match and I lost it. Better go on from here. Clearly, it hasn’t been my best year.”

She was asked about the return tactic.

“It will be interesting to see if she does it again next time I play her,” Sharapova said.

There’s a good chance it will happen. Radwanska is a intriguing blend of on-court dare and off-court charm. She told her younger sister, Urszula, also a pro player, that they would buy two Louis Vuitton bags if she beat Sharapova.

And then there are the unusual pets at home -- rats named Flippy and Floppy, named after brothers from a Polish movie.

“They’re so fat,” she said. “But yeah, they’re still alive. They’re waiting for me at home.”

Though she said Flippy and Floppy are “dangerous and aggressive,” they’re apparently an upgrade from the previous family pet, a dog with a feel for “danger.”

Radwanska was asked if the dog bit people.

“Yeah, my sister,” she said. “Twice. So that’s why no dog anymore. And I don’t like cats.”

She just played one on the court against Sharapova.

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lisa.dillman@latimes.com