Two-time defending champion Roger Federer
dropped his opening round-robin match on Monday at the Tennis Masters Cup.
Frenchman Gilles Simon pulled off the upset with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 triumph.
Simon only became part of the exclusive eight-man field after world No. 1
Rafael Nadal withdrew because of a knee injury and fatigue.
Federer, a four-time champion in the season-ending tournament, is the only
former winner in this year's field. He lost for only the fourth time in 30
lifetime matches in this event, and for the second straight year dropped his
opener in round-robin play.
The Swiss superstar can still win the tournament -- as he did last year after
an early loss -- if he earns one of the two spots in the semifinals from his
round-robin group. The other players in the Red Group are former world No. 1
Andy Roddick and U.S. Open runner-up Andy Murray, who played the late match
Monday.
In Gold Group play on Sunday, Serbia's Novak Djokovic posted a 7-5, 6-3 win
over Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro and Nikolay Davydenko of Russia rallied
for a 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 7-6 (7-0) triumph over France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
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