Round-robin groups revealed for Tennis Masters Cup

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.