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  • Nadal falls out of contention at ATP Finals

    November 25, 2009

Rafael Nadal looked sluggish throughout and was thoroughly outplayed.
Rafael Nadal looked sluggish throughout and was thoroughly outplayed.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON -- Rafael Nadal fell out of contention for a spot in the semifinals at the ATP World Tour Finals with a second straight defeat, losing 6-1, 7-6 (4) Wednesday against Nikolay Davydenko.

Nadal looked sluggish throughout and was thoroughly outplayed by the Russian, who secured his first win of the round-robin phase and can still reach the semis. Nadal, however, can no longer advance after his second straight-set loss.

Davydenko broke twice in the first set and was up a break twice in the second. Nadal fought back to force the tiebreaker, but the Russian clinched it with a forehand winner on his first match point.

Earlier Wednesday, Robin Soderling became the first player to reach the semis by beating Novak Djokovic 7-6 (5), 6-1.