Nalbandian upsets Federer again in Paris

By Patrick Vignal

PARIS (Reuters) - David Nalbandian enhanced his reputation as Roger Federer's nightmare opponent by upsetting the world number one again with a 6-4 7-6 win in the Paris Masters Series third round on Thursday.

Eleven days after beating Federer in the Madrid Masters final, the unseeded Argentine showed more composure when it mattered to oust the elegant Swiss, who had already made sure of ending the season in top spot for a fourth consecutive year.

"Of course, it's disappointing to lose to a guy two times in a couple of weeks, especially indoors, one my favorite surfaces, but we knew the qualities of David," Federer told reporters.

"I wish conditions were a bit faster because indoors is supposed to be fast," he said. "Not here, I guess."

Nalbandian, now tied at 8-8 with an opponent he famously defeated in the 2005 Masters Cup final, goes on to meet Spain's David Ferrer for a place in the semi-finals.

Ferrer, seeded fifth in the $2.45 million indoor event, advanced to the last eight by knocking out Czech Tomas Berdych, the 2005 Paris champion, 6-4 6-2.

Nalbandian took a perfect start, opening up a 5-2 lead. Federer fought bravely and had saved five set points when Nalbandian eventually took the set with a superb cross-court forehand winner.

The Argentine stayed on top in the second set and served for the match, leading 5-4, but Federer managed to break him and force a tiebreak, in which he survived a match point before hitting a forehand long to enable his opponent to win it 7-3.