Once again, the finale of the Shanghai Masters Cup was a one-man show and Roger Federer was the only star.
The world No 1 Swiss won his fourth Masters Cup title in five years in a lopsided final, defeating Spaniard David Ferrer 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 38 minutes.
Federer was merciless against Ferrer, a player against whom he has never lost in seven previous meetings. Ferrer was a surprising finalist who defeated world No 2 Rafael Nadal, No 3 Novak Djokovic and No 5 Andy Roddick en route to reaching the final. Federer broke Ferrer twice in each set and did not drop a single service game throughout the match.
The 26-year-old defending champion also hammered nine aces and won 83 percent of his second serves. He had a total of 30 winners - three times as many as Ferrer - and won 20 of his 27 attempts at the net.
"I did not cry or anything on the court today but it was a nice victory, especially proving it to myself and the world that I can do it over and over again," Federer said.
Roger Federer of Switzerland reacts after beating David Ferrer of Spain during their final match at the Masters Cup in Shanghai yesterday. Yang ShizhongYesterday's match turned out to be a virtual replay of last year's quick final where Federer brushed aside American James Blake 6-0, 6-3, 6-4. Aside from the 2005 final when Argentine David Nalbandian upset the top seed in five sets, nobody has been able to come close to the Swiss, unable to even force a tiebreak.
"In the most important matches I am the toughest. That's been a big strength of mine in the past," Federer said. "I came to these matches being the favorite, against Ferrer, against Blake, maybe not so much against Agassi back then. But still, I take advantage of my chances."
With the victory, Federer jotted a series of new records into the history books. He equaled Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras as five-time winners of the tournament as he broke the $8-million mark once again. He was the first player ever to reach that mark last year by amassing $8,343,885, and set a new high of $8,630,620 this year after receiving a $1.2-million winner's check.
"He is the best in history," Ferrer said of the Swiss in the awarding ceremony.
"Roger is a better player than me. He can serve, slide, volley and it's very difficult to play with him. He can do everything well and has no weak points."
It was Federer's versatile play that ruined Ferrer's Cup debut.
After giving up an early break point in the second game, which he saved with an excellent play at the net, Federer shifted into full speed and never let Ferrer get close.
He broke on the second of three triple break points after Ferrer drove a forehand long in the third game and surged to a 4-1 lead after Ferrer double-faulted on another break point in the fifth game.
Federer was again in command of most of the rallies in the second set. After Ferrer missed an easy net point in the seventh game, Federer had no problem taking the break point opportunity and broke the deadlock at 4-3.
An ace in the next game sent Federer to the verge of winning the second set 5-3. Ferrer then bowed to the pressure, going 2-0 down with a forehand error despite skillfully saving three set points.
Federer's dominance somewhat disappointed the packed crowd of spectators, some of whom paid as much as 1,580 yuan ($208) for a seat in the 15,000-capacity Qi Zhong Tennis Center.
"We just missed Nalbandian," a fan murmured. The Argentine was the only one to break Federer's recent reign in the tournament with an upset victory in 2005. He also defeated the world No 1 twice en route to winning back-to-back Master Series titles in Madrid and Paris this season.
But Nalbandian was not here, choosing not to fly to Shanghai as an alternate.
Federer converted the first match point into victory with a crosscourt backhand winner.
"I am a little nervous because it was my first final (in the Cup)," said Ferrer, who will jump past Roddick to grab a career-best No 5 ranking in the world.
Federer will get a little bit of rest before starting the next season, but in between he will remain in the headlines with next week's highly anticipated exhibition games with Sampras, whom he rates as one the best players he has faced, along with Nadal and Agassi.
"He is, you know, in my point of view, very, very much up there," Federer said. "When he was on, he was absolutely one of the best and that's why I am so excited to play against him next week."
Source: China Daily
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