Nalbandian stuns Federer
Afp,Shanghai
David Nalbandian pulled off an enormous upset on Sunday when he came from two sets down to win the Masters Cup against struggling world number one Roger Federer in a nail-biting five-set final. Nalbandian, seemingly out of it after losing two tie-breakers, outlasted the two-time defending champion to win 6-7, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 after four hours and 33 minutes. He becomes the first Argentine to win a year-ending tournament since Guillermo Vilas won the 1974 Masters in Melbourne. Federer, who had been out since October 2 with ankle trouble, took the first two sets before fading, calling the trainer in the fourth. But he rallied and was serving for the match at 6-5 before Nalbandian forced the tie-breaker. The victory completes a remarkable turn of events for the eighth seed, who was packing his things for a fishing trip just a few days ago before being called up for the injured Andy Roddick. It ends Federer's 35-match winning streak and stops him one win short of equalling John McEnroe's 1984 record winning percentage of 96.5. Federer had looked back to his best as he blanked Gaston Gaudio 6-0, 6-0 in the semi-finals a day earlier. But was broken in the first game before being taken to an opening-set tie-breaker, finding two aces and a big slice of luck as he took the lead with a net cord.
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