**Roger Federer made the worst start possible to the 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.
Gulbis recovered in style after losing the first set against Federer, who was far from on top of his game, making only 46% of first serves.
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 dominating his opponent with his trademark mixture of subtle angles and stunning winners.
But the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion began to falter in the second set and Gulbis took full advantage to win it 6-1 and draw level.
The momentum was with the Latvian in the third, but crossing the finish line proved difficult. He wasted six match points - including four in one game as he served for the match at 5-4 up.
Federer hung on and broke back to even it up at 5-5 in the decider, but then promptly lost his own serve in the next game.
Gulbis then held his nerve to secure the shock win in front of a rapturous crowd in Rome, which will put a dent in Federer’s preparations for the French Open, which begins in May.
Djokovic, champion in 2008 and runner-up in 2009, had no such problems on the clay in Rome, dismissing 46th-ranked Chardy in less than an hour.This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
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