Djokovic out of Masters Cup
Novak Djokovic is a shock first-round casualty in Shanghai
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Tuesday, 13, Nov 2007 02:44
The world number three Novak Djokovic has been knocked out of the Masters Cup in Shanghai after suffering his second defeat of the tournament.
The Serbian youngster lost 6-4 6-2 to Richard Gasquet, the French number eight seed, in the round robin stage.
And coupled with his loss in the opening match of the competition against Spain's David Ferrer, Djokovic is now unable to qualify for the semi-finals from the gold group.
Gasquet, who caused an out-of-form Djokovic no end of problems with his speed around the court and shot-making abilities, is now back into contention for the last four.
He opened the tournament with a defeat to world number two Rafael Nadal but Gasquet will qualify for the semi-finals if he beats Ferrer in his final round robin match this week.
The Frenchman only qualified for the Masters Cup by beating Britain's Andy Murray on his way to the semi-finals of the Paris Masters.
Nadal, who made the final in France last week, suffered his first defeat of the tournament in the second match of the day - losing 4-6 6-4 6-3 to Ferrer in the gold group.
The result means Ferrer has one foot in the semi-finals of the tournament, and can cement top spot in the group with a victory over Gasquet.
However defeat for Ferrer coupled with a win for Nadal in his last match of the section against Djokovic would leave qualification in the balance between the three players with two victories to their name.