Shanghai Masters roundup | Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal enter semifinals
Title contenders Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal marched on to the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters with convincing wins over Grigor Dimitrov and Richard Gasquet respectively. Federer’s next opponent, Juan Del Potro, is a major doubt with a wrist injury that he suffered during the quarter finals.
Dimitrov hardly posed a threat for Nadal in the first set as he breezed through it 6-4 with relative ease. However, the World no. 8 did show some grit in the second set as Nadal failed to break, leading the game to a tie-break, which the Spaniard eventually won 6-7 (4-7).
Dimitrov looked poised for a comeback in the third set as he had an early break point, but Nadal’s persistence paid off as he prevented it with a backhand volley, which gave him the confidence to win the next three games on the trot.
Nadal faces a tricky task in the semis against world no. 5 Marin Cilic, who comes to the game on the back of a comfortable 6-3 6-4 win against Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas in a game that saw him serve 10 aces.
Roger Federer had an easier win compared to his nemesis as he defeated France’s Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-4. Federer has a brilliant record facing Gasquet, against whom he has won the past 15 sets, all by margins of 6-4 or greater, and fans were hardly expecting things to change anytime soon.
However, the 16 seed did bring some competition in the opening set itself as he held a break point while 3-2 up. However, given the knack of coming back from tight situations that Federer has recently developed, the Swiss broke Gasquet at 5-5 winning the first set 7-5 eventually.
He then took an early lead by in the second set by breaking Gasquet’s serve and repeated it again at 3-3, eventually edging out Gasquet 6-4. He is scheduled to face Argentine Juan Martin Del Porto in the semi-final, who is a major doubt after suffering a wrist injury during his match against Serbia’s Viktor Troicki, even though he recovered in time to beat him 6-4, 1-6, 4-6.
The 29-year-old has had three operations on the wrist, missing 11 months of tennis. Potro’s communication manager has played down any serious concerns by informing that doctors have put him on a splint. Despite his US Open quarter-final loss to Potro, Federer holds a 16-6 lead in the FedEx ATP Head2Head series over the South American.
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