Federer suffers shock loss in Gstaad Open

Roger Federer suffered a shock loss on Thursday in the second round of the Crédit Agricole Suisse Open Gstaad, falling to Daniel Brands as 6-3, 6-4 in 66 minutes.

Federer, seeded first, saved a first match point by serving an ace when trailing 5-3, and a second in the next game with a forehand winner. Brands, who took a set off Federer in a second-round loss at Hamburg, then ended the 65-minute match with a service winner.

Federer was returning to Gstaad for the first time since he won the title in 2004 and where he debuted on the ATP Tour in 1998 as a 17-year-old ranked No. 702.

Federer rarely loses an opening match. This defeat ranks alongside that of his round-of-64 exit in straight sets at Indian Wells, Calif., in March 2007 to Guillermo Canas of Argentina, then ranked No. 60.

Federer was hoping to tune his game in Gstaad and Hamburg after his second-round exit at Wimbledon. After a three-week break, he returned in Hamburg, testing his new racket yet citing back pains that limited his movement. He lost there in the semifinals.

Brands broke Federer to lead 4-2 in the opening set when he put away an overhead at the net. But the 26-year-old German closed the first set with two aces, among his 11 for the match. Federer immediately lost serve in the second set by netting a backhand volley and saved three break-point chances to avoid trailing 3-0.

He shared that he's recently been struggling with back issues, but did not regret his decision to play in Gstaad.

"I decided after today’s warm-up whether I would play or not," he said. "I’m happy that I was able to play because I’ve had problems for some time now, already in Hamburg. But it didn’t get worse during today’s match. I’m positive and I felt that it was getting better during the last few days.

"I’m still happy that I came to Gstaad this week. It was great being back here and the crowd gave me a fantastic welcome."

Federer is to return next month at the Montreal Masters and then defend his Cincinnati Masters title before the U.S. Open begins Aug. 26.

Date: 15th July 2013, Source: AP and ATP