Roger Federer beats Nadal for the 4th time this year, wins Shanghai Masters title
The Swiss world number two Roger Federer won the Shanghai Masters by brushing aside the world number one Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-3. With this, Federer gained the fourth victory of the year against his Spanish rival and also won the Shanghai title for the second time in his career.
Earlier this year, Federer beat Nadal in the finals of the Australian Open, the Miami Masters and in the last 16 at Indian Wells. After registering these three victories, Federer also managed to thrash his long-time rival in Shanghai by firing 10 aces.
It took an hour and 12 minutes for Federer to claim his second Shanghai title with an exceptional performance. He is now possibly the only one who can still stop Nadal ending the year as number one.Ā
āI wasnāt here last year because of injuries, so itās just so, so nice to be back in Shanghai,ā Federer said to AP.
āItās a wonderful moment for me to be back here playing against my good friend and rival, Rafaā¦ We didnāt think maybe we were going to have the year we did."
āI definitely didnāt, so itās just nice to share this court with you today and hopefully thereās more to come in the tournaments weāve got left. Itās been a pleasure playing against you again today.ā
The game was played under a roof at the Qi Zhong Tennis Center, where Federer sprinted out of the blocks and broke Nadal in the opening game. The Spaniard couldn't deal withĀ the variety of shots coming across the net.Ā
The Swiss star player, in the second set, didn't take his foot off the pedal, breaking Nadal to go 3-2 up and keeping his cool to wrap up victory, by winning the second of three match points to claim his 94th career title.
Federer earlier won the tournament in 2014 and this year, he enjoyed himself on the fast courts of Shanghai, whereas, Nadal will look back fondly on his victory in last weekās China Open.
āI want to congratulate Roger and his team for a great year. Today I think you played a fantastic match, so many congratulations,ā Nadal said.
āThis year has probably been the most successful of my career here in Chinaā¦ Itās been a great two weeks and I feel very happy after a long year to be able to have the results here. Itās very important for me.ā