Nishikori stuns Federer
Roger Federer suffered a shock straight-sets defeat to Kei Nishikori at the ATP Finals on Sunday, severely denting his bid for the 100th title of his illustrious career.
The Swiss, who has won the season-ending event a record six times, produced an uncharacteristically error-prone and fractious display in the round-robin match as the Japanese seventh seed prevailed 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
The result means Federer is now in danger of failing to qualify for the semi-finals for just the second time in 16 appearances at the event.
Federer, 37, has beaten Nishikori in Shanghai and Paris in recent weeks but despite having the backing of a full house at the O2 Arena, he never really settled into a groove.
The normally cool Swiss was warned by the umpire for ball abuse in the 12th game after Nishikori produced a staggering backhand winner down the line.
The Swiss great made 20 unforced errors in the first set and Nishikori capitalised, forcing a tie-break in which he raced to a 6/1 lead before sealing it 7/4.
Federer, showing real urgency, broke Nishikori immediately at the start of the second set but it proved a false dawn as he lost his own serve immediately
Nishikori broke again in the sixth game and kept his nerve, serving out for victory.
Overall the statistics make grim reading for Federer, who made a total of 34 unforced errors against 19 winners.
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