France's Gilles Simon saw off top seed Roger Federer in three sets at the Masters Cup in Shanghai.
Frenchman edges out top seed in three sets
Gilles Simon saw off top seed Roger Federer in three sets at the Masters Cup in Shanghai.
The Frenchman prevailed 4-6 6-4 6-3 against his Swiss opponent in the opening match of the Red Group at the ATP Tour's season-ending tournament.
Federer, a four-time winner of this event, came into the match with doubts surrounding his fitness after he was forced to pull out prior to the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters two weeks ago due to a back injury.
But the 27-year-old appeared in little trouble while taking the opening set off Simon in 41 minutes courtesy of a solitary break in the fifth game.
And Federer was in total control after claiming another service break in the third game of the second set.
Gifted
However, the world number nine was gifted a route back into the contest when Federer hit his forehand long to hand back the break.
The US Open champion then had to fend off three break points in a nail-biting eighth game, but Simon had the chance to clinch the set with another break point two games later.
And this time he made no mistake, racing to the net to hit a winner off Federer's attempted drop shot.
It was the 24-year-old who continued to force the pace in the deciding set, although Federer seemed able to pull out the shots when he needed them - including surviving three break points in the sixth game.
But Simon made his move in the eighth game, making the most of another break-point opportunity by smashing a forehand out wide to take a 5-3 lead.
And he served out the victory in style, signing off with ace after two hours and seven minutes on court.
Unusual
"The better you play, the better he plays, he's quite an unusual player and he makes you work hard and runs very well," said Federer, who also lost to Simon in their only previous encounter at the Toronto Masters in July.
"Definitely today shots that I missed I normally don't miss. I think that's just lack of practice.
"It's the only tournament where I really have a chance after losing the first match. So I'm happy it happened here.
"At least now I have three sets under my belt and hopefully I'll play better in the next match."
Simon, who owes his place in the eight-man field to the withdrawal of injured world number one Rafael Nadal, added: "I defeated him once in Toronto, so it was easier to finish the match.
"I had no complex when I served in the last game.
"It was once again one of the best victories of my career. I'm really happy to be here ... I just wanted to give everything on the court."
