Rafael Nadal defeated by Jurgen Melzer in Shanghai
Rafael Nadal crashed out of the Shanghai Masters on Thursday, 14 October, while Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Robin Soderling all progressed to the last eight.
Nadal claimed only one set against Jurgen Melzer, who overcame the world number one with a strong display, winning 6–1 3–6 6–3 in the third round of the tournament.
Nadal withstood three match points from Melzer, who claimed to have won the match at 5–2 in the third set without the officials taking notice.
"I was always strong on the key points, and I am very proud I served it out, especially as I had already won the match at 5-2 and got a bad call," the Austrian said after the win, which saw Nadal exit prior to the last eight for the first time in any tournament
this year.
Melzer on the offensive
Melzer opened the first set in convincing fashion, breaking Nadal's usually strong serve twice and conceding only one game to the Spaniard.
The 13th-seed's decisive forehands proved too much for the Spaniard early on in the match.
The top seed managed to break once in the second set, going on to hold his serve and get back on level terms, but it was Melzer who looked the liveliest at the start of the third set.
At 2–2 in the decider, Melzer broke Nadal's serve before earning three match points at 5–2.
The Spaniard defended those points, but had to concede the set in the next game as Melzer's service sealed the match.
"This isn't a surprise for me. I didn't play well," said Nadal. "I felt slow on court and I made more mistakes than usual. In general, I am a little bit more tired than usual, physically and mentally."
Melzer, who reached the semi-finals of the French Open in June, was full of confidence after the win. "Once you reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam everything is possible, and today was a great moment."
The Austrian will face Argentina's Juan Monaco in the quarter-finals.
Federer, Soderling and Djokovic through
Federer, facing Andreas Seppi of Italy, enjoyed the only break of the first set in his 6–3 6–4 win.
The Italian managed to break once in the second set, but the world number two fought back to claim his place in the quarter-finals, where he will face Soderling, who defeated Spain's David Ferrer 7–5 6–4.
The Swede overcame Federer in the last eight of the French Open in June, but the Swiss got his revenge at the US Open last month.
Djokovic, seeded third, bypassed Richard Gasquet comfortably in his third round draw, winning 6–1 6–1 to set up a quarter-final encounter with Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
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