Simon stuns misfiring Federer at Masters Cup

Roger Federer got his quest for a fifth Masters Cup title off to the worst possible start with a 4-6 6-4 6-3 defeat at the hands of Frenchman Gilles Simon on Monday.

The Swiss showed signs of discomfort from the back injury that caused him to withdraw from the Paris Masters last month and made 50 unforced errors to fall to a second defeat in two encounters with the 23-year-old world number nine.

Simon, who got his ticket for the season finale when world number one Rafael Nadal withdrew injured, targeted the top seed's backhand with his powerful groundstrokes and sealed his reward with an ace after just over two hours.

Roger Federer lost his only previous Masters Cup group match at the hands of Chile's Fernando Gonzalez in his opening encounter last year but still managed to claim the title for the second season in a row.

Andy Murray and American Andy Roddick open their Masters Cup campaigns in the second Red Group match later on Monday. The top two from each of the two groups qualify for Saturday's semi-finals.