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Djokovic bows out of Masters
Holder Novak Djokovic was knocked out of the Paris Masters by Frenchman Michael Llodra as Andy Roddick, Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer secured the final three places for the season-ending ATP Tour finals on Thursday.
Holder Novak Djokovic was knocked out of the Paris Masters by Frenchman Michael Llodra as Andy Roddick, Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer secured the final three places for the season-ending ATP Tour finals on Thursday.
The trio grabbed the spots after Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, who had to reach the Paris final to have a chance of qualifying for the tournament featuring the world's leading eight players, lost 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 in the third round to local favourite Gael Monfils.
Roddick, Berdych and Ferrer join Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Djokovic, Andy Murray and Robin Soderling for the London showdown starting on November 21.
Paris top seed Federer struggled in the early stages before breezing past Czech Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-3, setting up a quarter-final meeting with Austrian Juergen Melzer, a 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 winner over Ferrer.
Third seed Andy Murray received a warning for throwing a ball in irritation in a sluggish 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 win over Croatian Marin Cilic.
Murray capitalised on an 11-point winning run to bag the win with a service winner. He will face the 12th-seeded Monfils on Friday. Djokovic welcomed the opportunity to get more rest before London but his 7-6, 6-2 defeat was a psychological blow before next month's Davis Cup final against France.
