STUTTGART (Germany), Oct 16: Defending champion Wayne Ferreira upset 11th seed Roger Federer 7-6 3-6 6-2 on Tuesday to advance to the third round of the Stuttgart Masters Series tournament.

Swiss Federer, who had a bye into the second round, became the first seed to bow out of the $2.95 million event as he made another early exit after losing in the first round in Moscow and Vienna.

South Africa’s Ferreira, who beat young Australian Lleyton Hewitt after a five-set thriller in last year’s final but has been struggling lately, sealed victory after 93 minutes with Federer netting a backhand on match point.

The first set was a close affair and a tie-break was needed, which Ferreira took 7-1 with a service winner on set point.

Federer, who started the season in style before having to fight a groin strain, broke his 30-year-old opponent in the second game of the second set, which he wrapped up with Ferreira hitting a return long.—Reuters