Federer felled in Stuttgart
Roger Federer has lost his opening match at the Masters Series tournament in Stuttgart, all but ending his chances of qualifying for the prestigious season-ending Masters Cup in Sydney.
After receiving a bye into the second round in Stuttgart, the Swiss number one became the first seeded player to leave the tournament after being overhauled in three sets on Tuesday by defending champion Wayne Ferreira.
In a tight first set, the unseeded South African took Federer to a tie-break. There was nothing close about the tie-break itself, though, with Ferreira storming through 7-1.
The Swiss star rallied in the second set, taking it 6-3, but the match turned round once again in the deciding set as Ferreira wrapped up a 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 victory.
Seeded 11th in Stuttgart, Federer needed to put in a good run of performances to this week to maintain any realistic chance of qualifying for the Masters Cup.
To make it into the December contest, the Swiss player still has to climb four places in the ATP champions race, with only the world’s top seven players guaranteed entry to the competition.
With only one Masters Series tournament remaining (in Paris later this month) Federer is fast running out of opportunities to garner the necessary points.
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