Shanghai Masters: Hard courts of Shanghai crown new emperors

Roger Federer and the Bryan brothers win event for the first time

SHANGHAI: Roger Federer claimed one of the few titles to have previously eluded him after he overcame a sluggish start to beat Frenchman Gilles Simon in the final of the Shanghai Masters on Sunday.

The Swiss 17-time grand slam singles champion triumphed 7-6 (6), 7-6 (2) to register his 23rd Masters Series title and his first in China.

Federer’s relief and joy were apparent when the 33-year-old let off a huge roar and threw both fists into the air after Simon could only net a return to hand the Swiss his fourth title of the year and the 81st of an unparalleled career.

"It makes me very happy winning here because this tournament means a lot to me," Federer told reporters. “Putting my hands on the trophy for the first time is a good feeling, I must say. I'm very happy with the way I'm playing."

It had all begun so well for the unseeded Frenchman, who broke a sloppy, error-strewn Federer in the opening game and held firm until he was serving for the set. However, at 5-4, the pressure began to show. As Simon’s serve and groundstrokes deserted him, Federer had two break points but wasted the first with his 14th unforced error, only for Simon to hand him the game on the next point after netting a backhand.

Simon fought off two set points in his next service game after once again finding his serving range to force a tiebreak with a booming ace. The world number 29 then had a set point in the tiebreak but Federer snuffed out the danger with his serve, before producing a near-perfect backhand winner down the line to take the tie-breaker 8-6.

Simon, who knocked out Australian Open winner Stan Wawrinka and sixth seed Tomas Berdych en route to the final, took a medical time-out for treatment on a suspected groin problem at the end of the set and looked uncomfortable upon his return.

However, the Frenchman fought on admirably, digging himself out of some early holes to hold his six service games, before threatening an unlikely break in the 11th game of the set. Having struggled to make an impact on the Federer serve throughout the set, he managed to fashion two set points out of nowhere, only to waste them both with groundstroke errors as Federer held on.

The Swiss then stepped it up a notch in the tie-breaker, firing some big serves and stunning winners to get four championship points but only needed one as Simon folded on the first.

After the loss Simon said: "He [Federer] was just more opportunistic. We had a close match. He’s always showing you that he is ready to be really aggressive on every shot. So he keeps you under pressure."

Federer, who will move above Rafael Nadal into second spot in the ATP rankings when they are updated today, has now won seven of the nine different Masters Series events, with only the Monte Carlo and Rome tournaments eluding him.

Bryan brothers collect them all

American twins Bob and Mike Bryan added yet another accolade to their lengthy resume when they became the first pair to win all nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments after taking the Shanghai Masters men's doubles title.

The 35-year-old siblings defeated French Open champions Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-2, 7-6(3) to take an unprecedented 101st career title in their 152nd final.

Sunday's victory was their fifth Masters 1000 title of the season, a joint personal best, after they secured the year-end doubles number one ranking earlier this week for the 10th time. "It's another great milestone," said Bob. "This week was full of them for us. To come and get in the title match, have a shot at winning a tournament that's eluded us, complete the Golden Masters, is amazing.”

The duo have also won a record 16 grand slam titles and in 2012 became only the second team to complete a golden slam after they won the London Olympics doubles title.

 

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.