Gulbis shocks Federer in Masters

Federer has never won the Rome Masters event

Roger Federer made the worst start possible to his clay-court season as he was beaten by Latvian Ernests Gulbis in the second round of the Rome Masters.

An out-of-sorts Federer took the first set only for his opponent to force his way back into the match.

A nervy Gulbis, 21, needed seven match points in the third set to seal a 2-6 6-1 7-5 win over the world number one.

World number two Novak Djokovic defeated France's Jeremy Chardy 6-1 6-1 to seal his place in the third round.

Djokovic, champion in 2008 and runner-up in 2009, dismissed 46th-ranked Chardy in less than an hour, and was later joined in the next round by world number five Andy Murray.

Reigning champion Rafael Nadal of Spain will face Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber on Wednesday.

World number one Federer collected his 16th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January but since then, he has made early exits in Miami and Indian Wells, and now Rome.

606: DEBATE Federer needs to stop taking things for granted truefan2000

The 28-year-old is still in the doubles in Italy, and is then scheduled to play in Estoril and Madrid before beginning the defence of his French Open title in May.

Federer struggled in the damp conditions, committing 38 unforced errors and making only 46% of first serves.

Still, Gulbis looked to have blown his chance when, after missing two match points at 5-3, he served for the match at 5-4 and saw four more chances come and go.

But another error-strewn game from Federer handed the 21-year-old another opportunity to serve for it, and he did so to love.

Gulbis, ranked 40 in the world, described it as "the best win of my career", adding: "I was scared to beat him. My whole body is shaking. I cannot believe I won".

The outcome had looked fairly straightforward early on, with Federer taking advantage of an inconsistent opponent to cruise through the opening set.

But the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion began to falter in the second and Gulbis took full advantage to win it 6-1 and draw level before finally coming through in a gripping decider.

buy erectalis uk | kamagra oral jelly