Federer shocked in Masters opener

SHANGHAI—World number one Roger Federer suffered a shock defeat to Fernando Gonzalez to put his Masters Cup defence in doubt on Monday.
The Swiss triple champion raced to a one-set lead but then lost a second-set tie-breaker by a mile before being edged out by the gutsy Chilean 3-6, 7-6 (7/1), 7-5 in front of a disbelieving Qi Zhong Stadium crowd.
It was a disastrous start from the 12-time Grand Slam winner, who had never lost a round-robin match at the season finale and enjoyed a 10-0 record against the seventh-ranked Chilean. “It’s tough because I thought I played pretty good,” said the rueful Swiss. “In some ways I have regrets and in some ways I don’t, because I thought it was ridiculous the kind of shots he was coming up with. “You have to give him credit for that. I hadn’t been broken all the way through until the very end. He lost his serve but then he broke and held his serve, so that’s that.” Federer started in typically ruthless fashion, breaking Gonzalez in his first game before wrapping up the first set in just 29 minutes.
However Gonzalez stalled the charge, taking the second set to a tie-breaker where Federer suffered an uncharacteristic implosion, fluffing an overhead and playing a panicky lob. In the deciding set, Federer staved off break points in the third and fifth games but was broken for the first time for 6-5 as Gonzalez hammered ground strokes before finishing with a deft volley.
Gonzalez, who had staved off five break points of his own, raced to 40-0 in the next game and sealed a famous victory as Federer hooked a forehand wide. Federer’s second defeat in as many matches — after losing to David Nalbandian in the Paris Masters quarters — adds unexpected spice to the Masters Cup, where he was overwhelming favourite for his fourth title. The 26-year-old Federer won the Masters in 2003, 2004 and 2006, falling to Lleyton Hewitt in the 2002 semis and losing a marathon final to Nalbandian in 2005.
Gonzalez, 27, is making his second appearance at the Masters Cup after playing as an alternate in 2005, when he failed to reach the knock-outs. In Red Group’s earlier match, troubled Russian Nikolay Davydenko’s horror season continued when he was hammered by racquet-breaking Andy Roddick.
Davydenko, the subject of an ATP betting probe, rallied from a set down to win the second, prompting the angry American to smash his racquet on the floor. But the Russian collapsed in the decider, losing 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in two hours and two minutes. It was an impressive performance from the fifth-ranked Roddick, who has been labouring with foot and knee problems, playing only one tournament and the Davis Cup semi-final since the US Open in August—Agencies