Shock losses to Djokovic and Murray in Cincinnati tennis tournament

World No 1 Novak Djokovic and No 2 Andy Murray crashed out of the Western and Southern Open within an hour of each other, before Rafa Nadal restored order with a win over old rival Roger Federer.

With the sprawling Lindner Family Tennis Centre still buzzing over John Isner's 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 7-5 quarter-final upset of Djokovic, another bombshell dropped on the nearby grandstand court as Tomas Berdych swept past US Open champion Murray 6-3, 6-4, creating shockwaves that will carry through to Flushing Meadows.

The upset of two of the grand slam's biggest favourites have thrown the tournament wide open and added new contenders to the usual suspects.

But world No3 Nadal underlined his claims by taming Swiss arch-rival and five-times Cincinnati champion Federer 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.

Federer and Nadal, meeting for the 31st time in their storied careers, treated the packed centre court to high-quality tennis that had some convinced that the Swiss maestro, winner of a record 17 grand slams and the muscular Spaniard, 12-time grand slam champion, were still the two top players in the world.

"I'm happy with my progress along the way," said Federer, who will drop to world No7, his lowest ranking in nearly 11 years.

"Could have won tonight, should have won tonight. But at the end, I think Rafa's confidence and the way he's playing at the moment got him through," he said.