Roger Federer was eliminated from the ATP World Tour Finals on Saturday, losing to Nikolay Davydenko 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in the semifinals.
Federer, who was broken three straight times in the first set, came within two points of winning while leading 5-4 in the third set. But Davydenko held on and then broke Federer to take a 6-5 lead before serving out the win.
Federer again struggled with his serve and his shot-making for much of the match, but he looked invincible throughout the third set, losing only three points on serve to hold easily through 5-4. And with Davydenko serving to stay in the match, Federer took a 30-0 lead when he returned an overhead smash from Davydenko by running across the court and jumping high to get his racket on the ball.
Davydenko was stunned by the acrobatic return, but he still won the next four points to hold serve.
Federer, who clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking after winning his second group match, again didn’t look like himself at the O2 Arena, often misplacing his usual dominating forehand and sometimes struggling to hold serve against a player he had never before lost to.
Even the fans may have questioned who it was on the court when the scoreboard operator mistakenly put a red-white-and-blue-striped Russian flag next to Federer’s name for a portion of the match. It was, however, quickly replaced by the familiar Swiss symbol of a white cross in a red background.
On Saturday, Federer was stellar in the opening two games, first holding at love with a pair of aces and then earning a pair of break points in the second game. But Davydenko saved them both, and he then went on his streak of breaking Federer three straight times. The 15-time Grand Slam champion broke back once.
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