Nadal Crashes Out of ATP World Tour Finals: 'Gatecrasher' Soderling First to Qualify

In what comes as a shock to tournament organizers as well as his plethora of fans, 2nd seed and world number 2, Rafael Nadal, is the first to exit out of the prestigious end of year ATP Tour Finals, with another defeat, this time to last year's runner-up, Nikolay Davyedenko. Beaten in straight sets for the second time in this tournament, Nadal never looked to be the player he has made a name for. With many expecting him to give a tough fight to the likes of Federer and Djokovic, his defeats, first to Robin Soderling, and now to Nikolay Davyedenko, has cast a shadow of doubt on his tennis. He has yet to win a set in this tournament, and that will play heavily on his mind in his last round robin match. Suffering from injuries mid year, the world number 2 has never looked to regain the form that saw him oust Roger Federer from the top spot last year.

Entering this tournament with a chance to finish the year ranked number one, Rafa has faltered time and again, and is now the first player to be shown the exit from this prestigious tournament. Even if he wins his last match against defending champion Novak Djokovic, he will not qualify as he lost his other 2 matches in straight sets and has yet to win a set. Even a straight set victory over Djokovic will not be enough, as he will lose out on aggregate and tie breaks. However, in spite of his dismal form, which has seen him without a title from as far back as May, Rafael Nadal will still finish the year as world number 2, something that he should definitely be proud of.

In the other match of the day, 'gatecrasher' Robin Soderling took last year's champion, and this year's favorite, Novak Djokovic, to the cleaners, with a straight set 7-6 6-1 victory. Soderling, who earlier defeated Rafa in the first round, was high on confidence, and after a tight first set, pulled away in the second, leaving Djokovic with no chance to get back in the match. This makes the 'gatecrasher' - as he is popularly known for making a late entry to the tournament to replace injured Andy Roddick, the first to qualify for the semi finals on Saturday. Considered by many, a 'wild card' in this tournament, Robin Soderling has proved his mettle, defeating the word number 2 and world number 3 in his 2 matches, and proving to all that he can indeed win this tournament.

Thursdays action will see group A leader Roger Federer trying to avenge his US Open loss when he takes on Juan Martin del Potro, while Britain's top seed Andy Murray will take on Fernando Verdasco.