Federer romps early
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ByEurosport
Published 12/11/2006 at 06:41 GMT
Roger Federer dominated the second two sets to easily defeat Argentine rival David Nalbandian 3-6 6-1 6-1 in the opening round-robin match of the Masters Cup in Shanghai on Sunday.
TENNIS 2006 Masters Cup Roger Federer d David Nalbandian
Image credit: Reuters
The World No. 1 needed just one hour and 27 minutes to defeat Nalbandian, who looked on form in the opening set, but collapsed in the second and third.
Federer, who lost last year's Masters Cup final to Nalbandian, is now undefeated in round-robin play at Shanghai.
Unforced errors and double-faults killed the Nalbandian's momentum after the opener, as the Argentine lost the second set on his own service with a double-fault and then an unforced error.
"I had to make him hit some errors -- he wasn't doing that at the beginning," Federer said.
"A couple of years ago I wouldn't have known what to do," the world number one told reporters, adding that experience had taught him how to handle "an incredibly good baseliner" like Nalbandian.
Nalbandian blamed a weak first serve for his loss but said of Federer: "He has all the shots. I mean, he can make any shot from anywhere."
Federer won 15 straight points in the third set cruising to a 5-0 lead before Nalbandian finally saved one service game.
Federer now leads the lifetime series 8-6, with the Swiss star having won eight of the last nine meetings between the two players.
Follow LIVE coverage of the Masters Cup all week long on www.eurosport.com.
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