Federer back from break
ROGER Federer isn't worried about rankings as he heads into the Shanghai Rolex Masters after a four-week break.
The world's third-ranked player says he has been working to improve himself physically and mentally during his time away from competition, which he said was more important than a top ranking.
"I'm a strong believer that when I'm at my best I can beat anyone," Federer told reporters in Hong Kong yesterday. "But there's many guys around right now playing really, really well and Rafael (Nadal) being the No. 1 guy is a tough guy to beat."
Federer said Nadal deserved his top ranking after winning at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open this year. However, Federer has won a record 16 grand slam tournaments, including this year's Australian Open.
"Obviously he's a stronger player today than a few years ago but the same counts for me. Even though the ranking has slipped maybe a little bit, I've only had time to improve as well and become physically stronger, mentally stronger as a player," Federer said.
He predicted that the Shanghai Rolex Masters, which starts on Sunday, will come down to the top eight players, with Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic expected to do well.
In Tokyo, Nadal and Roddick cruised into the quarterfinals of the Japan Open with straight-set victories yesterday.
Top-ranked Nadal beat Canada's Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4. Second-seeded Roddick downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Roddick, ranked 10th in the world, is playing his first ATP tournament since losing in the second round of the US Open. He served only five aces - to six for Chardy - but won 83 percent of his first serve points.
Viktor Troicki beat fifth-seeded Jurgen Melzer 7-6 (7), 3-6, 7-6 (3) for his first win over the Austrian, ranked 13th in the world.
Nadal faces Dmitry Tursunov of Russia, and Troicki plays Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain in today's quarterfinals.
The world's third-ranked player says he has been working to improve himself physically and mentally during his time away from competition, which he said was more important than a top ranking.
"I'm a strong believer that when I'm at my best I can beat anyone," Federer told reporters in Hong Kong yesterday. "But there's many guys around right now playing really, really well and Rafael (Nadal) being the No. 1 guy is a tough guy to beat."
Federer said Nadal deserved his top ranking after winning at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open this year. However, Federer has won a record 16 grand slam tournaments, including this year's Australian Open.
"Obviously he's a stronger player today than a few years ago but the same counts for me. Even though the ranking has slipped maybe a little bit, I've only had time to improve as well and become physically stronger, mentally stronger as a player," Federer said.
He predicted that the Shanghai Rolex Masters, which starts on Sunday, will come down to the top eight players, with Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic expected to do well.
In Tokyo, Nadal and Roddick cruised into the quarterfinals of the Japan Open with straight-set victories yesterday.
Top-ranked Nadal beat Canada's Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4. Second-seeded Roddick downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Roddick, ranked 10th in the world, is playing his first ATP tournament since losing in the second round of the US Open. He served only five aces - to six for Chardy - but won 83 percent of his first serve points.
Viktor Troicki beat fifth-seeded Jurgen Melzer 7-6 (7), 3-6, 7-6 (3) for his first win over the Austrian, ranked 13th in the world.
Nadal faces Dmitry Tursunov of Russia, and Troicki plays Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain in today's quarterfinals.
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