World number two Rafael Nadal lost 6-1 7-6 to Russian Nikolay Davydenko on Wednesday to become the first player to exit the ATP World Tour Finals. After losing both his Group B clashes in straight sets, the Spaniard has no chance of progressing any further in the elite eight-man event, even if he beats Novak Djokovic in his final round-robin match on Friday.

Andy Murray, though, faces an anxious few hours to see if he has sealed a place in the semi-finals after overcoming Fernando Verdasco 6-4 6-7 7-6 in his final round-robin match on Thursday.

The Briton would have secured a spot in the last four if he had beaten Verdasco in straight sets but must now await the result of Thursday’s second match between world No 1 Roger Federer and US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro.

Nadal, though looked a shadow of the man who was rated as the world’s best player until four months ago and spent more time shaking his head in frustration than producing winners during a lopsided first set. Davydenko leaped into a 4-2 lead in the second set, and despite a spirited fightback from the Spaniard, the world number six secured the win with a blazing forehand winner.

Run drying up

It seems hard to believe that only six months ago Andre Agassi was predicting Nadal would complete a calendar Grand Slam in 2009. But instead of emulating the feat last achieved by Australia’s Rod Laver 40 years ago, his winning run instantly dried up and he failed to win a title since May.

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