• Shanghai Masters

Nadal dumped out by Mayer in Shanghai

Rafael Nadal could not find a way past Florian Mayer © PA Photos

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Top seed Rafael Nadal was sent crashing out of the Shanghai Masters after falling in straight sets to Germany's Florian Mayer.

The pair had never met before, and the world No. 2 struggled to find the measure of his opponent as Mayer produced a powerful performance to claim a 7-6(5) 6-3 victory.

After an edgy opening as both players settled into their rhythm, it was Mayer who threatened to claim first blood, forcing Nadal to save two set points at 5-4 in the first set. The Spaniard saved the first after Mayer dived to reach an attempted pass, leaving an open court for Nadal to bury the shot.

A wayward forehand from Nadal brought up another set point, but the Spaniard held his nerve, Mayer eventually cracking with an errant backhand, before Nadal dispatched an emphatic forehand to stay in the set. But Mayer once again forced Nadal to serve to stay in the set, and the top seed hung on to force a first-set tiebreak.

The Spaniard's experience looked to have given him the upper hand when he claimed a mini-break courtesy of a monster forehand and a failed drop shot from Mayer, but the German battled back before Nadal's forehand snuck wide to give Mayer his third set point. And this time he made no mistake, clinching the set with a booming ace.

Nadal responded brightly, opening the second set with a love service game before piling pressure on his opponent's serve, but he failed to take his chances, and Mayer continued to doggedly deny Nadal.

And the No. 15 seed tightened his grip on the match to break, before holding his nerve to book his place in the quarter-finals, where he will meet another Spaniard, Feliciano Lopez, who upset China Open champion Tomas Berdych 6-4 6-4.

Meanwhile, the No. 3 seed David Ferrer saved three match points before claiming a 1-6 7-5 6-2 win over Juan Carlos Ferrero and in so doing booked his place in the ATP World Tour Finals.

Ferrero looked in complete control as he breezed through the first set but started to struggle with a foot complaint after taking a tumble mid-match. And after failing to convert match points in the second set, he wilted as his fellow Spaniard cruised through.

Ferrer will face Andy Roddick in the quarter finals after the American produced an excellent display to dispose of No. 7 seed Nicolas Almagro 6-3 6-4. Alexandr Dolgopolov bounced back from losing the first set to power past Bernard Tomic 5-7 6-1 6-0.

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