Nadal beaten in ATP tennis shock
The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals served up their first shock when Rafa Nadal lost in straight sets to Robin Soderling.
The world number two never recovered from a poor start and Soderling - who only qualified when Andy Roddick pulled out last week - eased through 6-4, 6-4.
Nadal, whose season has been disrupted by an injury that meant he could not defend his Wimbledon crown, refused to blame his defeat at The O2 on any physical shortcomings.
He said: "I didn't play really bad, I played okay. But in the important moments I didn't have the necessary calm. I played shorter in the important moments. That's the reason he beat me."
Yesterday's other game saw defending champion Novak Djokovic come back from a set down to beat Nikolai Davydenko 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in an epic contest that didn't finish until almost midnight.
The most eagerly anticipated clash of the week takes place this evening when British number one Andy Murray takes on world number one Roger Federer.
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