Federer Overcomes Defending Champion Nalbandian

ATP World No. 1 Roger Federer beat defending champion David Nalbandian 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the opening match of the red group to avenge his loss to the Argentine in last year’s Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai final.

Nalbandian, currenly ranked No. 7 in the INDESIT ATP Rankings, broke the Federer serve in the first set before the Swiss regained his composure.

"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."

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 held serve.

The Swiss, who captured the Tennis Masters Cup title in Houston in 2003 and 2004, has now won eight of the pair’s last nine meetings.

They contested the opening round robin match at Shanghai in 2005, which Federer won in three sets before losing a dramatic five-set final against Nalbandian.

(ATP Tennis)