Shanghai, China (Sports Network) - Roger Federer and David Ferrer were semifinal winners Saturday at the Tennis Masters Cup and will play for the title of the lucrative season-ending event on Sunday.
The top-seeded Federer had a surprisingly easy match against nemesis Rafael Nadal, posting a 6-4, 6-1 triumph, while the sixth-seeded Ferrer cruised past American Andy Roddick, 6-1, 6-3.
Federer's 59-minute victory against Nadal was his most one-sided in the rivalry, which the Swiss star has recently dominated. The world No. 1 has captured five of the last seven matches with the Spanish sensation, losing only in the finale at the Monte Carlo Masters and French Open this spring.
"For me to beat him on hard court indoors is a great result," said Federer, who is now 6-8 lifetime against Nadal. "And the way I played today, I wish I could play every time like this against him. But it's not that easy."
Nadal had a few chances in the first set. He led 0-30 in the fifth game, but four straight aces gave Federer the game. Nadal had a break point in Federer's next service game, but was unable to convert.
The only time Federer had a chance to break in the first set came in the 10th game when he raced out to a 0-40 lead. Nadal staved off the first, but a Federer forehand winner wrapped up the set.
Federer then capitalized on the momentum and won the first 13 points of the second set on the way to a 3-0 lead. Nadal never recovered.
"I was really pleased with my performance for the last one and a half sets," said Federer, who was successful on 81 percent of his first serves during the match. "I was really pleased with my serving performance today. It was key to beating Rafa tonight."
Next up for Federer will be Ferrer, who is trying to become the first player to win the Masters Cup in his debut since fellow Spaniard Alex Corretja in 1998.
Ferrer, the only player to finish round-robin play undefeated, continued that trend with his rout of Roddick.
Roddick had back trouble early and called for the trainer down 4-1 in the first set. He was never able to kick it into gear and drilled just four aces.
Ferrer, seeded sixth this week, will try for his fourth title of 2007 and the sixth of his career. However, he has never beaten Federer in seven previous tries.
Federer won a pair of meetings this year, both on clay, at the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo and Hamburg.
"David has been the best player of the tournament," Federer remarked about his opponent in the final. "He's been beating unbelievable players along the way."
Federer will be trying for his 53rd career title and eighth this year.
The 12-time Grand Slam champion will finish the year at No. 1 for a fourth straight year. He is the reigning U.S. Open, Wimbledon, Aussie Open and Masters Cup titlist. He defeated American James Blake in last year's finale in Shanghai and is seeking his fourth Masters Cup title in five years.
An undefeated champion, which at this point could only be Ferrer, would collect over $1.5 million.
Shanghai, China (Sports Network) - World No. 1 Swiss Roger Federer and former top-ranked American star Andy Roddick were Wednesday's Red Group round- robin winners at the exclusive $3.7 million Tennis Masters Cup. Roddick has already clinched a berth in Saturday's semifinals here.
The top-seeded Federer rebounded from a Monday loss against Fernando Gonzalez by whipping fourth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 6-3, while a fifth- seeded Roddick improved to 2-0 this week by handling a seventh-seeded Gonzalez 6-1, 6-4 on the hardcourt at Qi Zhong Stadium. Roddick moved to 7-3 lifetime versus the Australian Open runner-up Gonzalez.
Federer got past Davydenko in 1 hour, 26 minutes with the help of four service breaks, compared to two for the Russian, while Roddick doused "Gonzo" in 1 hour, 5 minutes by winning 21 more points (59-38) than his Chilean counterpart. The massive-serving American, who fired only four aces in the big win, also broke Gonzalez three times, while the Chilean failed to record one break in the setback.
The amazing Federer is now 16-1 all-time in his Masters Cup round-robin matches and 11-0 lifetime versus Davydenko, who succumbed to the super Swiss in this year's U.S. and French Open semifinals.
Roddick currently leads the Red Group here with his 2-0 record, while Federer and Gonzalez are 1-1 and Davydenko is 0-2 and out of contention for Saturday's semis.
Federer and Roddick will clash here on Friday, while Gonzalez will take on Davydenko on Day 6.
Sixth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer leads this week's Gold Group with a perfect 2-0 record, while second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal and eighth-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet are both 1-1 and third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic has already been eliminated from semifinal contention at 0-2. Nadal is the reigning French Open champ and Wimbledon runner-up, while Djokovic was the U.S. Open runner-up to Federer in September.
The 12-time major champion Federer will finish the year at No. 1 for a fourth straight year. The sublime Swiss is the reigning U.S. Open, Wimbledon, Aussie Open and Masters Cup titlist and French Open runner-up. He defeated American James Blake in last year's finale here in Shanghai and is seeking his fourth Masters Cup title in five years.
On Thursday, Nadal will face Djokovic and Ferrer will battle Gasquet to determine the semifinalists from the Gold Group.
The Masters Cup features round-robin action for the first six days, with the top-two players from each group advancing to the semis. The lucrative final will be staged here on Sunday.
An undefeated champion, which at this point could only be Roddick or Ferrer, in Shanghai would collect over $1.5 million.
Shanghai, China (Sports Network) - Two of the world's top-three players suffered round-robin losses on Tuesday, as Rafael Nadal succumbed to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer and Serbian Novak Djokovic gave way to Frenchman Richard Gasquet at the $3.7 million Tennis Masters Cup.
A sixth-seeded Ferrer secured a berth in Saturday's semifinals here by coming from behind to beat the second-seeded Nadal 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, while the eighth- seeded Gasquet whipped a third-seeded Djokovic 6-4, 6-2. Nadal is the reigning three-time French Open champion and Wimbledon runner-up, while Djokovic was this year's U.S. Open runner-up.
Ferrer ran out to a 5-1 third-set lead against Nadal here on Day 3 and ultimately prevailed in 2 hours, 40 minutes. Ferrer managed to record one more service break than Nadal, as he piled up a whopping six en route to the big victory at this exclusive eight-player event.
The 25-year-old Ferrer has now won his last two matches against Nadal, with the other win coming in four-set come-from-behind fashion in the fourth round at the U.S. Open in September.
Ferrer stunned Djokovic here on Sunday.
Gasquet opened the evening by dousing Djokovic in 1 hour, 25 minutes, as the Frenchman piled up five breaks, compared to only two for his Serbian counterpart. Gasquet wound up winning 19 more points (64-45) than the struggling Djokovic.
Ferrer currently leads this week's Gold Group with a perfect 2-0 record, while Nadal and Gasquet are both 1-1 and Djokovic has been eliminated from semifinal contention at 0-2 on the indoor hardcourt here at Qi Zhong Stadium.
This week's Red Group features world No. 1 Roger Federer (0-1), fourth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko (0-1), fifth-seeded American Andy Roddick (1-0) and seventh-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, who lost to Federer in this year's Australian Open finale, but stunned the supreme Swiss in round-robin action here on Monday. Federer had been a perfect 15-0 in his Masters Cup round-robin matches since 2002.
The 12-time major champion Federer will still finish the year at No. 1 for a fourth straight year. The super Swiss is the reigning U.S. Open, Wimbledon, Aussie Open and Masters Cup titlist and French Open runner-up. He defeated American James Blake in last year's finale here in Shanghai and is seeking his fourth Masters Cup title in five years.
The Masters Cup features round-robin action for the first six days, with the top-two players from each group advancing to the semifinals on Saturday. The lucrative final will be staged here on Sunday.
An undefeated champion in Shanghai would collect over $1.5 million.
Madrid, Spain (Sports Network) - Justine Henin of Belgium outlasted Russia's Maria Sharapova to win her the season-ending WTA Tour Sony Ericsson Championships.
The top-seeded Henin, who disposed of Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals, dropped the first set and was down 3-4 in the second before rebounding to take a 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 victory in a battle that nearly lasted 3 1/2 hours, a record for a three-set final at this tourney.
Henin also won this title last year and secured her 10th singles crown of 2007. The last woman to win as many 10 titles in a single season was Martina Hingis, who won 12 times in 1997. The Belgian is also riding a 25-match winning streak, dating back to a semifinal loss to Marion Bartoli at Wimbledon.
Sharapova was the 2004 winner of this event and was gunning for just on her second title of 2007. Her lone victory of the year came in a U.S. Open tuneup this summer at the Acura Classic in San Diego. She also lost in the final at the Australian Open and reached the title match at the Wimbledon tuneup in Birmingham.
Meanwhile, Henin finished a brilliant season on a high note. She won her third straight French Open crown this year, captured her second U.S. Open title and had an astounding match record of 63-4 in 2007.
Henin now leads her all-time series with Sharapova 6-2 and collected $1 million for her win. Sharapova earned $500,000.
Shanghai, China (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal recovered from a shaky start to best Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the opening match at the Tennis Masters Cup on Sunday.
The French Open champion dropped the first set to Gasquet but steadied himself over the final two frames to win, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, on the indoor hardcourt at Shanghai's state-of-the-art Qi Zhong Stadium. Nadal, the World No. 2, has now beaten Gasquet four consecutive times in his career.
Later, David Ferrer upset Serbia's Novak Djokovic in the second Gold Group match, making it a perfect day for Spain. The underrated Ferrer doused Djokovic in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
Swiss great Roger Federer, who headlines the Red Group, is the defending champion here and starts his bid for a fourth Masters Cup title in five years on Monday.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer is joined in a very tough Red Group by No. 4 Russian Nikolay Davydenko, No. 5 American Andy Roddick and No. 7 Chilean Fernando Gonzalez.
The 2007 Masters Cup features round-robin action for the first six days, with the top-two players from each group advancing to the semifinals on Saturday, November 17. The lucrative finale will be staged on Sunday, November 18.
An undefeated champion in Shanghai would collect over $1.5 million.
The reigning Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open titlist Federer defeated American James Blake in last year's Masters Cup finale, giving him his third title in four years at this event. Federer is the only former champion in this year's exclusive eight-man field and 22-2 for his career at this tournament.
Federer beat Gonzalez in this year's Aussie Open final, topped Nadal in the Wimbledon title bout, bested Djokovic in the U.S. Open finale and lost to Nadal in the French Open championship match.
Madrid, Spain (Sports Network) - Saturday's semifinals are now set at the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, as top-seeded Belgian Justine Henin will meet fourth-seeded Serbian Ana Ivanovic and sixth-seeded Maria Sharapova will take on her seventh-seeded fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze.
Friday's Sharapova-Ivanovic winner would not have to face the world No. 1 Henin here on Saturday, and it worked out for the 2004 Championships victor Sharapova, who dismantled her fellow 20-year-old Ivanovic 6-1, 6-2 on the fourth and final day of round-robin play on the hardcourt at Recinto Ferial Casa de Campo.
Sharapova pasted Ivanovic in 1 hour, 10 minutes, as she recorded five service breaks, compared to zero for the overmatched Serb.
The Australian Open runner-up and former world No. 1 Sharapova was a perfect 3-0 in this week's four-player Red Group, while the French Open runner-up Ivanovic went 2-1. The group was rounded out by eighth-seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova (1-2) and second-seeded U.S. Open runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia (0-3). Hantuchova took the place of Wimbledon champion Venus Williams (dizziness) in the exclusive eight-player field.
Henin captured this week's Yellow Group, at 3-0, followed by Chakvetadze (2-1), alternate Marion Bartoli of France (1-1) and third-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic (0-3). The Wimbledon runner-up Bartoli replaced an injured Serena Williams here on Thursday. The fifth-seeded Williams, this year's Australian Open champ, pulled out here with a left knee injury after losing to Chakvetadze, 6-4, retired, on Wednesday night.
In a pair of meaningless matches on Friday, Hantuchova handled the former U.S. Open champion Kuznetsova 7-6 (9-7), 6-0 and a 10th-ranked Bartoli was leading Jankovic 6-1, 1-0 when the Serbian retired due to an illness. The busy Jankovic led the WTA Tour with a whopping 72 match wins in 2007.
On Saturday, Henin will meet Ivanovic for a third time in their careers. The Belgian is a perfect 2-0 lifetime against the Serb, including a victory in this year's French Open finale. The amazing Henin leads the tour with nine titles already this season.
The other semi will pit Sharapova against Chakvetadze, for a sixth time. The two-time major titlist Sharapova is a flawless 5-0 all-time versus her compatriot, including three wins in as many tries this year. Sharapova beat Chakvetadze in this year's Aussie and French Open quarterfinals.
Prior to this event, the reigning U.S. and French Open titlist Henin had already clinched the year-end top-ranking for a second straight season and for the third time in five years and is currently riding a torrid 23-match winning streak.
The seven-time Grand Slam event titlist Henin defeated France's Amelie Mauresmo in last year's Championships finale here in Madrid, which will give way to Doha as the tournament's host city next year.
The winner of this $3 million event will collect $1 million, while the runner- up will claim $500,000.
Shanghai, China (Sports Network) - The two four-man groups for next week's season-ending Tennis Masters Cup were announced on Wednesday, as Swiss great Roger Federer will head up the Red Group, while powerful Spaniard Rafael Nadal spearheads the Gold Group. Federer is the defending champion.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer is joined in a very tough Red Group by No. 4 Russian Nikolay Davydenko, No. 5 American Andy Roddick and No. 7 Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, while the second-seeded Nadal is joined in the Gold quartet by No. 3 Serbian Novak Djokovic, No. 6 Spaniard David Ferrer and No. 8 Frenchman Richard Gasquet. Spain will be the only country with more than one participant this year (Nadal and Ferrer).
Round-robin play will commence Sunday on the indoor hardcourt at Shanghai's state-of-the-art Qi Zhong Stadium, with two matches on the docket. The French Open champion Nadal will open up against Gasquet, while the nightcap will pit Djokovic versus Ferrer.
The 2007 Masters Cup will feature round-robin action for the first six days, with the top-two players from each group advancing to the semifinals on Saturday, November 17. The lucrative finale will be staged on Sunday, November 18. An undefeated champion in Shanghai would collect over $1.5 million.
The reigning Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open titlist Federer defeated American James Blake in last year's Masters Cup finale, giving him his third title in four years at this event. Federer is the only former champion in this year's exclusive eight-man field and 22-2 for his career at this tournament.
Federer beat Gonzalez in this year's Aussie Open final, topped Nadal in the Wimbledon title bout, bested Djokovic in the U.S. Open finale and lost to Nadal in the French Open championship match.
Quebec City, QC (Sports Network) - American Lindsay Davenport continued her push to a second title this year, ousting second-seed Vera Zvonareva in three sets to reach the final of the $175,000 Bell Challenge.
Appearing in her third consecutive quarterfinal since returning to the WTA Tour in August after nearly a year out of action, Davenport, who won the Bali Open this year, dropped her first set of the tournament but still managed to beat the Russian Zvonareva, 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3.
Davenport, who gave birth to her first child, Jagger Jonathan Leach, in June and returned to play in September, will square off against third-seeded Ukrainian Julia Vakulenko in the final.
Vakulenko overcame an injured right ankle to defeat American qualifier Julie Ditty, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. The 28-year-old Ditty made the first semifinal appearance of her WTA Tour career.
Paris, France (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal rallied from a set down to beat Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in Saturday's opening semifinal match at the Paris Masters.
The second-seeded Nadal earned a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory to reach the final, where he will play Argentina's David Nalbandian, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over 10th- seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the day's second semifinal.
Not only did Nadal eliminate Baghdatis, but he also ended the Cypriot's run toward a possible berth in the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup. Baghdatis needed to win this tournament and not have Gasquet reach the final to qualify for the elite eight-man tournament that starts November 11 in Shanghai.
Instead, Gasquet completed the field before even taking the court Saturday.
Baghdatis' setback turned out to be good for Gasquet, as Nalbandian needed just 68 minutes to move into his second straight Masters final. He beat Roger Federer for the Madrid Masters title last month, also toppling Nadal in the quarterfinals on his way to that crown.
Gasquet will be joined in the lucrative season-finale by Federer, Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko, Andy Roddick, David Ferrer and Fernando Gonzalez.
Nadal, meanwhile, is in position to claim his seventh title of 2007 and the 24th of his brilliant young career. The 21-year-old Spaniard has also won at Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Roland Garros and Stuttgart this year.
Sunday will mark his first final since capturing the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart in July. He had lost in the semifinals at the Montreal Masters, the second round of the Cincinnati Masters, the fourth round of the U.S. Open and, most recently, the quarterfinals at the Madrid Masters.
Nalbandian has become a giant killer of late.
After beating Nadal in the quarterfinals at Madrid, Nalbandian went on to knock off Djokovic in the semifinals and Federer in the title match. He became just the third player in ATP history to beat the world's top three players in the same event, joining the great Boris Becker, who did it in 1994, and Djokovic, who accomplished the feat at the Montreal Masters this year.
Nalbandian also beat Federer this week, eliminating the world's top-ranked player in the third round on Thursday.
The Madrid crown marked Nalbandian's only title of 2007 and the sixth of his career.
He is 1-0 lifetime against Nadal, with the 6-1, 6-2 rout of the Spanish lefty in Madrid the only previous meeting.
Sunday's winner will claim a first prize of $491,412, while the runner-up will pocket $245,706.
Quebec City, QC (Sports Network) - American Lindsay Davenport continued her push to a second title this year with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Frenchwoman Stephanie Foretz in the quarterfinals at the $175,000 Bell Challenge.
Appearing in her third consecutive quarterfinal since returning to the Tour in August after nearly a year out of action, Davenport continued to sweep away opponents. The new mother, having given birth to first child Jagger Jonathan Leach in June, has yet to lose a set in any of her three matches this week.
Davenport, a three-time Gland Slam champion, returned to play in September, winning the Bali Open and reaching the semifinals in the China Open. Her next opponent will be second-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva, a 6-2, 6-1 winner over fellow countrywoman and eighth seed Olga Poutchkova, the runner-up last year.
Third-seeded Ukrainian Julia Vakulenko gained her third career semifinal berth with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over fifth seed Olga Govortsova of Belarus.
Next up for Vakulenko will be qualifier Julie Ditty, a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victor over fellow American Vania King. The 28-year-old Ditty was already making the first quarterfinal appearance of her WTA Tour career.
Paris, France (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal was among the quarterfinal winners on Friday in the Paris Masters.
The second-seeded Nadal continued his quest for the title at the $2.45 million tournament with an easy 6-4, 6-2 victory over Russian Mikhail Youzhny.
Nadal has yet to lose a set during his two matches in his first appearance at this hard court event and is seeking to win his seventh title this season.
"It was an important match for me to be in the semifinals after the US Open," said Nadal. "Especially after Montreal. I'm so happy to come back and play one tournament like this. The last two matches have been very good, very good matches for me."
The Spaniard is the highest remaining seed after world No. 1 Roger Federer was defeated by Argentine David Nalbandian in the third round on Thursday.
Nalbandian followed up his surprising victory over the top-seeded Federer, with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 win over fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer on Friday. He is out of the Masters Cup race, but is on track to win his second straight Masters title.
Nalbandian will next face Frenchmen Richard Gasquet, who defeated Andy Murray of Great Britain, 6-3, 0-6, 6-4.
The win kept Gasquet's Masters Cup hopes alive, but ended Murray's chance of playing in Shanghai.
Ferrer wasn't the only Spaniard toppled Friday as eighth-seeded Tommy Robredo was defeated, 6-4, 6-4, by Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, who kept his slim chances of qualifying for the Masters Cup alive with the win.
Baghdatis, who will face Nadal on Saturday, is in the semifinals for his second consecutive event.
Shanghai, China (Sports Network) - Roger Federer and David Ferrer were semifinal winners Saturday at the Tennis Masters Cup and will play for the title of the lucrative season-ending event on Sunday.
