TORONTO: Frenchman Gilles Simon shocked Roger Federer Wednesday, handing him a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 opening-match loss at the Toronto Masters as the world’s No. 1 tennis misery continued after losing the Wimbledon title.

“I was playing like in a dream,” Simon said. “I just saw the ball, and I hit it as hard as possible. It’s so nice to play three sets like this and to win the match.”

Two-and-a-half weeks after going down in five sets to Rafael Nadal at the All England Club, Federer, who received a bye in the first round, was stunned in the second by the 22nd-ranked Simon, who won Indianapolis at the weekend.

Federer’s long-held No. 1 ranking is now under threat after Nadal and No. 3 Novak Djokovic both reached the third round in straight sets.

Federer was clearly rattled by the loss, in which he committed four-straight unforced errors to put Simon into a winning position as the underdog took full advantage on his first match point after two hours.

“It’s important to stay positive,” the shattered Swiss star said.

“The hard-court season has just started, and we have nine months of it.”

“It’s not the end of the world, but I wish I could have started better,” said Federer, a two-time Toronto winner.

“I like this event, and I’ve done well here.

“I’ve got to regroup and look forward to the Olympics and the US Open. This is really where I want to win. I have to make sure that I’m ready to,” he added.

It was the second defeat this season in an opening match for the formerly invincible Federer, who went out to Andy Murray in three sets in early March in the first round in Dubai.

Simon could not believe what he had done.

Second-seeded Nadal emerged victorious in his first match since winning Wimbledon, overcoming American Jesse Levine 6-4, 6-2. Players had to spend a frustrating day waiting for six hours to go on court as heavy rain soaked the event.

The only match that began on time got in a mere two games before the bad weather arrived.

Nadal’s win was his 25th in a row dating to Rome in May as he improved to 12-2 in Canada at the event where he won his first hard-court title.

Nadal broke twice in each set to ice the win and move into the third round against Igor Andreev, who put out 16th-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Four other seeds advanced with No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko putting out German Tommy Haas 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) and David Ferrer beating American Robby Ginepri 6-4, 6-4.

Seventh seed James Blake recovered to overhaul Swede Jonas Bjorkman 1-6, 6-1, 6-2. Richard Gasquet, the No. 10, got another win for France as he defeated Russian Andrey Kudryavtsev 7-5, 6-3.

Jankovic advances to be on

course for No. 1 ranking

In Carson, California, Jelena Jankovic opened her bid to gain the No. 1 ranking with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over American Vania King in the East West Bank Classic on Wednesday night.

The top-seeded Serbian could replace fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic from the top spot by winning the tournament, her first since injuring her right knee at Wimbledon. Jankovic was pushed in the first set before taking control in the second.

“My leg felt fine, I didn’t have any pain,” Jankovic said.

“I felt a little bit slow when I was moving around, not so explosive like I’m used to. It’s just a matter of feeling more comfortable.”

The injury withdrawals of Serena and Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport and Svetlana Kuznetsova have taken much of the luster off this year’s tournament, and Jankovic noticed.

“It’s really unfortunate this tournament doesn’t have many people,” she said.

“The stadium is quite empty which is unusual because most of our tournaments are a full house.” The lack of fans made Jankovic’s cheering section — local Serbs sporting “JJ’s Crew” T-shirts — stand out.

“I’m obviously not 100 percent and I’m not playing my best tennis, but little by little, I will try to do it, especially for the big tournaments,” said Jankovic, who is scheduled to play in the Beijing Olympics. “Hopefully, I will keep getting better.” Bethanie Mattek, who has improved her ranking almost 100 places since early April, took another step forward with a 6-4, 6-0 victory against 11th-seeded Nicole Vaidisova.

The 23-year-old Mattek was 153rd in the WTA Tour rankings on April 7 after losing six of seven matches to open the season. But she made it to the semifinals of a grass-court tournament in England before losing to Serena Williams in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, moving her into 59th place entering this $600,000, 56-player event.

Mattek’s win over Vaidisova was her ninth in 11 matches, including a 6-3, 6-0 win over Vaidisova in England.

Mattek’s third-round opponent Thursday will be Olga Govortsova of Belarus, who upset No. 6 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia on Tuesday.

Fourth-seeded Dinara Safina of Russia also moved into the third round, beating Shuai Peng of China 6-2, 6-2.

Eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, No. 9 Nadia Petrova of Russia, No. 10 Flavia Pennetta of Italy and No.

14 Sybille Bammer of Austria also advanced.

Seventh-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland was another shock exit, losing to Ai Sugiyama 6-4, 7-5; and 122nd-ranked Meng Yuan of China eliminated No. 16 Sania Mirza of India 6-4, 6-3.

Mattek said her turnaround has been primarily due to being physically fit and able to play more often and more consistently.

“I attribute a lot of it to my fitness level,” she said.

“I think I’m in the best shape of my career right now.

I’ve played a lot of matches and that’s made me mentally tough.

“I’ve been able to fight my way through matches. I’ve stayed a lot healthier this year. Last year I’d win a match 7-6 in the third (set) and then be dead for the next match.

Plus when you’re playing the top girls week in and week out you get a feel for their game. I’ve had a great couple of months.”