Federer loses twice but Nadal, Djokovic advance
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Roger Federer suffered two defeats at the Shanghai Rolex Masters yesterday, when third seed David Ferrer and fourth seed Tomas Berdych were also shown the door.
However, top seed Novak Djokovic and second seed Rafael Nadal stayed on course to meet in the final. Serb Djokovic had the measure of Italian Fabio Fognini in his 6-3, 6-3 victory but Spaniard Nadal was taken to a second-set tie-breaker by Argentina’s Carlos Berlocq before emerging with a 6-1, 7-6 (5) victory in a late-night battle.
The fifth-seeded Swiss fell to a surprise 4-6, 7-6 (5), 3-6 third-round loss to Gael Monfils of France, much to the disappointment of his adoring fans who have thronged Qizhong Tennis Center in great numbers.
The 32-year-old returned to court later for his second-round doubles clash where he and his partner Zhang Ze of China battled fifth seeds Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Marcelo Melo of Brazil before losing 1-6, 6-1, 8-10.
Facing a determined Monfils and after losing the first set, Federer came from 3-5 down in the second set, and later 3-5 in the tie-break, to win it. Monfils held steady in the decider despite the overwhelming support from local fans for Federer, and broke the former world No. 1 in the fourth game of the set.
“He used to play aggressive and miss less. Maybe he is a bit lacking in confidence and took fewer risksâ” said Monfils, who fired 15 aces against Federer’s three. “It’s a good win for me. I feel a bit sorry for him because I know he’s running for London (ATP Finals). But it’s tennis. He’s going to have more opportunities (in) the coming weeks.” Monfils will take on defending champion Djokovic next.
Federer went back on court just 45 minutes after the loss and the 2-hour battle with Monfils took its toll as the Swiss was erratic. He and Zhang lost the first five games of the first set.
Zhang took over the main role in the second set, unleashing several brilliant long returns. Though not at his best, Federer, a 17-time grand slam winner in singles, provided able support at the net as the wildcard duo eased through the set.
Federer’s fans, expecting some comfort after his early ouster in singles, constantly cheered the pair in both English and Chinese, with some even shouting “advice” to Zhang, like “You are great, just relax and play yourself.”
The pairs set up a seesaw fight in the decider, tying all the way to 8-8, before Dodig and Melo forced match point and Federer obliged with a double fault, ending his Shanghai odyssey.
“Our opponents started the game well. It’s disappointing, we should have won,” the Swiss said, though he praised his first Chinese partner. “Zhang played quality games this week. This should give Chinese tennis a lift and boost young players’ confidence.”
Despite the loss, Zhang was upbeat. “To be able to partner Roger is already a harvest itself. I’ve learned a lot about how to deal with situations on court.”
Federer said he was given a choice of playing immediately or after the Stanislas Wawrinka-Milos Raonic match (Wawrinka won 7-6 (2), 6-4). He chose to play immediately given his body was still warm, as one or two more hours of rest wouldn’t have made much of a difference.
Talking about the Shanghai tournament and Chinese male players, Federer was generous. “The quality gap among male players ranked between 75 and 250 is not much. If you love what you are doing and are devoted, you’ll get your chance (to reach the top 100 ranking).”
Ferrer was the day’s first big casualty, the third seed falling 4-6, 3-6 to German Florian Mayer while Nicolas Almagro of Spain surprised fourth-seeded Berdych 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Argentine sixth seed Juan Martin del Potro advanced after German Tommy Haas withdrew due to injury, while France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Kei Nishikori of Japan 7-6 (5), 6-0.
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