Federer suffers Toronto upset, Nadal wins

By Steve Keating

TORONTO (Reuters) - The end of Roger Federer's long reign as world number one moved closer when he suffered a shock second-round defeat by Frenchman Gilles Simon at the Toronto Masters on Wednesday.

Back on court for the first time since his epic loss to Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon final, Federer was beaten 2-6 7-5 6-4 and his ranking is now under serious threat from Nadal who beat American qualifier Jesse Levine 6-4 6-2.

Federer had looked ready to take out his Wimbledon disappointment on Simon when he won the first four games on the way to the opening set.

But Simon, riding the momentum from his championship win in Indianapolis on Sunday, refused to buckle, battling back to beat the 12-times grand slam winner and reach the third round.

It was the first time Federer had lost his opening match in a tournament since falling to Briton Andy Murray in Dubai in March.

"The hard court season just started so it is not the end of the world but I wish I could have started better," Federer told reporters. "I like this surface, I like this tournament, I have done well in the past here so it definitely hurts.

"I have to regroup and look forward. The bigger picture is the Olympic Games and the U.S. Open and those are the places I really want to win so I have to make sure I am ready for that."