Roger Federer's first appearance in Gstaad for nine years lasted just
over an hour as the former World No.1 made an untimely exit to
Germany's Daniel Brands.
Still experimenting with a
larger racquet head, the Swiss maestro was always struggling against an
opponent he beat in an ATP tournament in Hamburg last week, going down
6-3 6-4 in 66 minutes.
The defeat continues a
sorry run for the 17-time grand slam champion, losing in the second
round of his Wimbledon title defense and then falling at the semifinal
stage in Germany on his return to action.
After his defeat, Federer
said he had been suffering with back problems, but had decided to press
ahead with his return to the Swiss venue.
"I only decided after today's warm-up whether I would play or not," he told the official ATP Tour website.
"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."
Brands, ranked 55th in
the world, was always on top, serving decisively with 11 aces and
achieving a single break against the favorite in each set.
The 31-year-old Federer
could take none of his five break point opportunities to leave the home
crowd at the clay court tournament disappointed.
He famously was
presented with cow when he played in Gstaad in 2003 after claiming his
first Wimbledon crown and won the event on his last appearance in 2004.
Federer's only
tournament title in 2013 came on his favorite grass at Halle, but his
Wimbledon challenge was cruelly ended by Ukraine's world number 116
Sergiy Stakhovsky on the first Wednesday.
Read: Federer loses on day of massive upsets
It ended the record 36 consecutive grand slam quarterfinal appearances for the Swiss, amid talk his powers were waning.
Former champion Marcel Granollers of Spain ended the run of Federico Delbonis with a 6-2 7-5 victory to reach the quarterfinals.
Argentina's Delbonis,
who shocked Federer in the semifinals in Hamburg, also put out defending
Gstaad champion Thomas Bellucci in the first round, but could find no
answer against Granollers.
He will play Dutchman
Robin Haase, who saw off third seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia in
straight sets, while Brands will take on Victor Hanescu of Romania.
Hanescu benefited from the second set retirement of Roberto Bautista Agut in their second round match.
Meanwhile, Serbian Davis Cup star Victor Troicki has been handed an 18-month ban for a doping offense, the International Tennis Federation announced Thursday.
Former World No.12
Troicki failed to provide a blood sample at the Monte Carlo Masters
earlier this year. The 27-year-old will be banned until January 24,
2015.
Troicki gave a urine
sample after his match, but claimed that he had been assured by the
doping control officer (DCO) at the tournament that he could skip the
blood sample because he had been feeling unwell.
"The tribunal concluded
that the DCO told Mr Troicki that she could not advise him as to whether
his reason for not providing a blood sample was valid, and that no such
assurances were given by her," read an official statement on the ITF
website.
Troicki's finest hour
came in 2010 when he won the decisive final rubber for Serbia in the
Davis Cup against France, but he has slipped to outside the top 50 of
the current rankings.
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