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October 14, 2015

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Federer stumbles at first hurdle

FOR the second straight year, Roger Federer found himself in trouble in his opening match at the Shanghai Rolex Masters.

This time, he couldn’t pull through.

The 17-time grand slam champion was broken late in the third set against Spanish qualifier Albert Ramos-Vinolas yesterday and lost 6-7 (4), 6-2, 3-6.

Federer was in a similar situation last year against Leonardo Mayer, but it ended very differently. He saved five match points before finally prevailing, and going on to win the tournament.

“Last year I got lucky,” Federer said. “This year I didn’t. So it’s a pity.”

Federer started off slowly against the 70th-ranked Ramos-Vinolas, failing to convert two break points in the opening set and making a flurry of backhand errors to lose the tiebreaker. He captured the second set with ease, winning every point on his first serve, but Ramos-Vinolas got the only break in the third set and held on to close it out.

It was the Spaniard’s first win against a top-10 player in 16 matches.

“After the second set I thought it will be like always, I will lose,” Ramos-Vinolas said. “At the end after the break, I thought, OK, maybe I can do it.”

The last time Federer and Ramos-Vinolas played, at Wimbledon in 2012, the Spaniard won only three games.

“I’m always cautious,” Federer said. “I don’t underestimate or lack respect for anybody out there. These guys are all touring professionals, they know what they’re doing.”

Federer hasn’t played since helping Switzerland win a Davis Cup match the week after losing to Novak Djokovic in the US Open final. He arrived in Shanghai early to have time to adjust to the conditions, but still didn’t feel comfortable on Stadium Court at the Qizhong Tennis Center in suburban Minhang District.

“I just think the first round here in Shanghai has always been historically quite difficult, getting used to the conditions and the surface and the balls,” Federer said. “But he did a good job. You could see he’s been in the groove.”

In another second-round match, former US Open champion Marin Cilic defeated Croat compatriot Borna Coric 6-1, 6-2, a day after saving a match point to win his first-round match.

Also, ninth-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada beat Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2); No. 10 Gilles Simon of France beat Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 4-6, 6-0; No. 11 Richard Gasquet defeated Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-6 (4), 6-2; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France beat Victor Estrella Burgos 6-3, 6-2; and No. 12 Kevin Anderson of South Africa eliminated 37-year-old Tommy Haas of Germany 6-3, 7-5.

Haas, a former second-ranked player, has won only two matches in eight tournaments since returning from right shoulder surgery earlier this year.

In Tianjin, US Open champion Flavia Pennetta lost in the first round of the Tianjin Open yesterday, hurting her chances of qualifying for the WTA Finals in Singapore.

The top-seeded Italian lost to qualifier Lyudmyla Kichenok of Ukraine 3-6, 5-7.

Pennetta is currently in the eighth and final spot to qualify for the WTA Finals, but only has a 20-point lead over Swiss Timea Bacsinszky, with several other players behind her still in contention.

The Italian announced after winning the US Open last month that she would be retiring from tennis after playing in China and potentially Singapore to finish off the season.

Second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska and third-seeded Karolina Pliskova advanced to the second round. Radwanska beat Olga Savchuk 6-1, 6-0 and Pliskova defeated Kristina Kucova 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Both women are also still in the hunt for spots in the WTA Finals field.




 

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