Roger Federer lost his first match of the Shanghai Masters for the second year on the trot yesterday as Frenchman Gilles Simon dealt the recently injured Swiss star another ugly reminder that he is no longer at the top of his game.

After a sub-par season which saw him lose the Wimbledon crown and world No 1 spot to Spaniard Rafael Nadal, Federer was pushed to the verge of elimination in the season closer as upstart debutant Simon came back from one set down to beat him 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in their first group match.

Federer, who stormed back last year to clinch his fourth title in seven attempts at the event, was brought shatteringly down to earth at a busy Qi Zhong stadium yesterday when Simon handed him only his fourth loss to date at the tournament.

The 24-year-old Frenchman, who earned his berth courtesy of Nadal's last-minute withdrawal, became the only active player to keep a perfect record against Federer. Simon beat him in a similar three-set thriller in their sole previous meeting at the Masters Series Toronto in July.

Gilles Simon of France reacts after beating Roger Federer of Switzerland in their group stage match at the Masters Cup in Shanghai yesterday. [Yang Shizhong/China Daily]

"For sure it is one of the best victories of my career," Simon said after his latest win. "I was really happy to come here because I (am) the world No 9. It's a good experience for me and I just want to play my best and give everything on the court."

Simon did not look remotely like a rookie at the tournament that saw debutants Juan Martin Potro and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga both lose their opening matches on Sunday.

He blasted seven aces and grabbed three of his 12 break points in the second set while blunting Federer's arsenal of weaponry with admirable all-court coverage.

Federer, distracted by a back problem that forced him to withdraw from the Masters Series in Paris last month, had three aces and only managed to break his opponent twice.

He said he was glad to get through the match without exacerbating the injury.

"I was happy the way it held up," he said. "It was sort of skeptical going into the match because the practice sessions haven't been hard at all. I really tried to not push it at all. So I was actually happy that the back felt okay.

"I haven't been basically serving all week, except maybe 50 serves in total, the last nine days," he said, adding that his shoulder felt rusty.

Simon reaped the benefits and was careful to take maximum advantage.

"His serve is a little bit slower than usual, not that fast. It was a little bit easier for me," he said.

Federer could have wrapped the match up in two sets when he broke Simon early in the second to go up 2-1. But a sudden loss of momentum followed during which the Frenchman pressed his luck with a counter break and pushed the match to a third set.

Both had plenty of break points in the deciding set but Federer failed to hold on, with Simon beating his serve at 3-5 and killing him off in 127 minutes.

"He is quite a unique player. He makes me work hard and run very well," said Federer, who remained upbeat and said his experience last year would hold him in good stead.

In other group action yesterday, world No 4 Andy Murray of Britain defeated American Andy Roddick 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.

(China Daily November 11, 2008)