The Shanghai Rolex Masters traditionally marks the beginning of the final month of every season. Players are always banged up and it often seems to be a case of the last man standing will win the title. The tournament is no stranger to retirements upon retirements. This year, though, the injured are not even bothering to test their mettle in Shanghai. Included on the absentee list are Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, and Milos Raonic, just to name a few.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, however, are good to go. The two all-time greats, who have already monopolized the four Grand Slam trophies in 2017, are the respective top two seeds.
Shanghai Rolex Masters
Where: Shanghai, China
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $5,924,890
Points: 1000
Top seed: Rafael Nadal
2016 champion: Andy Murray (not playing)
Draw analysis: Nadal is coming off a title in Beijing, where he endured one serious scare along the way. It came right away in the opening round, during which the Spaniard had to save two match points against Lucas Pouille. Fast forward one week and the Frenchman could be Nadal’s third-round opponent in Shanghai. Either way, assuming the top seed begins by beating Jared Donaldson he will get a familiar foe during third-round action—Pouille or Fabio Fognini. Nadal is also on a quarterfinal collision course with Grigor Dimitrov, whom he defeated in three sets in the Beijing semis. Additionally, the top half of the Shanghai bracket includes Marin Cilic, Pablo Carreno Busta, Kevin Anderson, and Nick Kyrgios.
Federer, meanwhile, is taking part in his first official tournament since the U.S. Open. The Swiss was plagued by a minor back injury in New York, but he appeared to be 100 percent at the Laver Cup. He may have to be 100 percent if he runs into David Goffin in the Shanghai quarters or either Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Juan Martin Del Potro, or John Isner in the semis. Goffin just captured back-to-back titles in Shenzhen and Tokyo. Zverev, Thiem, Del Potro, and Isner headline a jam-packed this quarter of this week’s draw. Thiem may have an especially tough opener on his hands in the form of Denis Shapovalov. Interested in tennis and other athletic gear? Find great deals at Sports Direct deals.
First-round upset alert: (Q) Alexandr Dolgopolov over (14) Jack Sock. Sock has remained a consistent force in doubles (runner-up with Isner last week in Beijing), but his singles results have nose-dived since the beginning of the season. The 20th-ranked American is 1-5 in his last six matches dating back to the Washington, D.C. semifinals and he has lost in three consecutive first rounds. Dolgopolov, on the other hand, reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open and finished runner-up to Goffin in Shenzhen.
Hot: Rafael Nadal, David Goffin, Pablo Carreno Busta, Roberto Bautista Agut, Sam Querrey, Kevin Anderson, Paolo Lorenzi, Damir Dzumhur, Andrey Rublev, Jared Donaldson, Yuichi Sugita, Denis Shapovalov, Diego Schwartzman
Cold: Jack Sock, Lucas Pouille, Karen Khachanov, Joao Sousa, Viktor Troicki, Gilles Simon, Ivo Karlovic
Quarterfinal predictions: Grigor Dimitrov over Rafael Nadal, Marin Cilic over Kevin Anderson, Alexander Zverev over John Isner, and Roger Federer over Roberto Bautista Agut
Semifinals: Dimitrov over Cilic and Zverev over Federer
Final: Zverev over Dimitrov
[polldaddy poll=9847073]
who ya got?
If seeding holds and Rafa would make it to the finals, he’s likely to play almost the same lineup of players from Beijing tournament. Hmmm, the Organizer missed to include Isner to complete the entourage. Oh wait, Isner might be waiting in the finals tuning up his sling LOL.
QF;
Rafa d. Dimitrov in 2
Kyrgios d. Busta in 2
Zverev d. Shapovalov in 2
Goffin d. Federer in 3
SF;
Rafa d. Kyrgios in 3
Zverev d. Goffin in 2
F;
Rafa d. Zverev in 2
Goffin d Sir Roger? Surely you jest.
You’re not Jimmy soixante X by any chance, es tu?
Roger in the finals NID.
Schwartzman – Dolgopolov – Goffin. All of them are on fire and Roger did not play since uso beside laver cup. I took my chances.
When was the last time that lack of play hurt roger in a masters 1000 on hard court though?
Are you jimmy soixante dix BTW?
#Asking4aFriend
No i am not 😉
Ubitennis @Ubitennis 2 hours ago
Fed:”I expected Rafa to pull out of Beijing, or Asia altogether, after how busy he has been with US Open. But that’s Rafa.”
https://twitter.com/Ubitennis/status/917293376407347200
Rafa didn’t fulfil Fed’s dream. 🙂 Vamos Rafa!
C’mon fed he should play the exhibition you organised laver cup where he played the most in your team ..4 matches..2 singles 2 doubles ..and he should pull out of competitive tournaments..what logic is that 🙂
Usopen was over nearly 4 weeks back…enough of rest. Had there been no laver cup he would have rested full 3 weeks.
It’s pretty obvious why Fed said what he did. He’s hoping to have the chance to catch up. He does well in this part of the year.
However I do hope that Rafa manages his schedule. He did have some time off after the USO. Laver Cup didn’t take too much out of him and he’s had a break after that.
NNY, but you suggested on the other thread that Rafa should pull out of Basel and Paris!
Seems Rafa has wrong-footed Fed because not only has he not pulled out of Asia but he actually won Beijing.
So glad Rafa didn’t do as what Fed hoped he should or would do. I think Rafa may win Shanghai too and extends his lead further.
He’s full of confidence now and his game just flows so freely it’s as if he doesn’t even need to think before hitting his shots. I think Rafa will play at Basel, to fulfill his obligation there, and then decides whether to play or skip Paris. It depends how he fares at Basel, and I think he wants to play indoors to prepare for WTF so it’s unlikely that he will skip both Basel and Paris.
Rafa is on a roll so if he is fit with no niggles, he should make the most of it then he doesn’t have too much pressure to defend all his points in the first half of next season. That’s a task Djoker and Murray will have next year and there is no guarantee that they will win a load of points in the the first half of the season.
However, this is also worrrying. Why is Rafa exerting himself. he is not young anymore
Roger Federer or Alexander Zverev to win Shanghai.
From the statistical expert who picked kyrgios over Nadal because of his 1-0 h2h on hc.
Hint: one data point does not a statistically significant sample make simple misogynist stanley the russian bot.
#FDT
Are you still talking ? 😂 what happened to your either zverev or kyrgios will beat rafa %100 guess’ ?
My TDC bracket :
SF Dimitrov d Kyrgios
Federer d Zverev
F Federer d Dimitrov
Dimitrov finally beats Nadal who’s winning streak has to end sometime.
I’m not convinced though,that Federer will be playing well enough after his break.Wishful thinking he will be.
Fed has a couple of easy rounds to play himself back into form. It’s in his contract.
Diego – Alexandr – David easy draw ? COME ON !
I said first couple as in two rounds dude. When’s the last time fed lost on a hard court to ANY of the players he could face in the first two rounds?
(Hint: never.)
#HopeThisHelps
Still not easy .. hope THIS helps.
Quarters:Nadal over Dimitrov, Anderson over Cilic, Zverev over Isner, Federer over Agut.
Semis: Nadal over Anderson, Zverev over Fed
Final: Nadal over Zverev
Maybe Fed will make it to final but Nadal’s too good right now
I don’t see any readon for Dimi to beat Rafa now. Rafa is on a roll. He’s playing great tennis and has a lot of confidence. He just got through a really tough draw in Beijing.
Winning breeds winning. Even though this isn’t Rafa’s time of year, he’s looking very good. I am sure he is motivated to finish the year strong.
I doubt A Zverev is making the SF to meet Fed. He won’t survive B2B events to go deep in both. He may lose to Delpo or Isner I feel.
I did that bracket before the Beijing final and yeah Nadal is looking really good.But still a chance for Dimi if he can play his best .
El
Dimi already played his best at Beijing, still came out short. If not for a short lapse of concentration by Rafa in the second set where he lost his serve after a long service game, Rafa would most probably win in straight sets.
When will Ricky’s predictions start falling apart?
Bautista- Aguts out …
He’s falling out the top twenty now after making the finals here last year 😬
That didn’t take very long lol.
Cilic and Isner won’t be making quarters either.
#NothingNew
Well I picked Dimitrov to beat Nadal so at least thats two of us.
Good to have you back Hawksy. Hope you can use your formidable skills to weave a net to catch the pesky fly in the ointment once and for all.
People not picking Nadal are thinking he won’t be able to win back-to-back titles on such quick hard courts. It’s not that they think he is not capable but probably they think he will not be able to play at that amazing well.
It must be kept in mind that when Rafa was on a roll in 2013, he played amazingly well in Montreal but then everyone thought he’d lose in Cincy esp because is record is so poor there. Ricky picked Stan to beat Rafa in the Qtrs and predicted Djoko would win the event. We know how well Rafa played there though! THIS Rafa is supeior to the 2013 Rafa and he can make literally anything possible. I think he is on a tear and he is the favourite to win here in Shanghai.
I do remember how Delpo stifled Rafa’s game in the 2013 shanghai semi. He hit so flat and the bounce was low. Rafa was just not being given time to hit underneath the ball enough for his forehands and it was a struggle.
I don’t expect the Courts to be much different as compared to Beijing. The momentum Rafa is carrying aint ordinary. It won’t evaporate so quickly. He will play extremely well here and I will be really surprised if he goes out cheaply.
Remember that Dimitrov said the courts are ‘pretty fast’. They appeared to be playing pretty fast as well. I have never seen Rafa deliver such a comprehensive performance on a very quick hard court. The second serve is a new addition but even excluding it, all aspects of his game were just near-perfect. It was an indomitable Rafa Nadal.
vamosrafa,
I am with you all the way. I think Rafa is riding the crest of a wave right now. I know the thinking may be that he can’t string together two wins in a row on these courts. But he just showed that he is in exceptional form right now.
Rafa is healthy and feeling it right now. I think he has a good shot at the win here.
I also do not Sascha getting to the final. He is looking gassed right now.
But I just do not see Rafa losing to Dimi here in the quarterfinals.
The problem with tennis is, one mishap at the wrong time and you could lose your serve, a set or the match. If Rafa had gone down to Pouille in Beijing, the internet would have been buzzing with all his detractors espousing how he can’t win on hard courts, that he might as well take this part of the season off because he is wasting his time as he is never going to win anything. That the USO title was a fluke, blah, blah, blah. He played sublime tennis after that shutting up all his doubters.
We would never have seen him clip Krygios’s wings, or send Isner packing in straight sets. Many would still be hanging to Dimi’s loss over Rafa in Beijing last year. His detractors were too keen on holding the Laver match he lost to Isner as a trophy to their notion that Rafa is unable to cope with big hitters. Now that Rafa has beaten Isner, the don’t have that anymore.
Here we are, with Rafa being a serious contender for Shanghai. Hopefully, he won’t have any mishaps and will go on to show us what he is capable of.
Corr
Dimi’s win
So true. Tennis is a game of inches.
I only want to see rafa beating fed here. I seriously want it. I think this is the only site where
Knowledgeable tennis fans exist. So I love commenting here.
“All I care about is Rafa beating Fed here.”…. Such insightful “tennis knowledge”! All the knowledgeable tennis fans have gained so much knowledge and wisdom from your comment about “tennis”…
#WhereAreYouWhenINeedYouHawkeye?
#ICantDoSmartassCommentsAsWellAsYou
😂😂😂😂 Kev that was a gut buster lmao
Thanks, Benny. 🙂 Someone’s gotta keep the extreme bias/insecurity in check around here! I see down below that you’re doing what you can to keep the peace as well. The Fedal fanatic assholery seemingly gets worse by the day lately… The obsession some fanatic Fedal “fans” have with their respective guy being considered definitively “greater” than the other guy has started to become even more important to them then the objective achievements of their hero. It’s become political theater over tennis. And none of them can even see why it’s bad for the sport and for these two legends’ legacies. It’s such a disservice to both of them to try to split hairs to figure out which one is definitively “greater” than the other. I’m getting sick of complaint about it. And I’m sure everyone else is getting sick of me complains about it haha! But dammit! 100 years from now (if this world still exists), do we want their legacy to be of two warring factions who hate each other, and have it pass through generations? Or do we want them to be what they objectively are- the two most successful, talented, popular male tennis players of modern tennis who brought tennis to levels never seen before them? Their game styles, strengths, titles, preferred surfaces, etc. are so different, yet the amount of reasons they are the greatest are the same, and that is what makes them so amazing in their own respective right! How can we really call one of them objectively greater than the other when they are completely different players? What does “Greater” even mean?? Ok, I’m done for the night.
You’re right Kevin. Words are symbols, and people use their own subjective ‘filters’ to interpret them. Great post. Glad you are on this forum. Keep strong Kevin. Tennis community needs you. Really.
Rafa looked spent at Shanghai 2013, playing and staying at so far behind the baseline and allowed Delpo to push him around; only attempting to move to the net in set two which was a bit too late.
The Rafa of 2017 will not hesitate to move to the net when he deem it the right moment to do so. He looks fit and healthy now, so I doubt he can’t conquer Shanghai.
I think Rafa begrudged playing this part of the season in the past. Up to 2011, he would usually have secured the #1 or #2 ranking and just wanted to go home. He treated the WTF the same and didn’t always play it even though he’s always qualified. Between 2012 and 2016 he was plagued with injury and illness. Now I think his heart is in it and he wants to be in China then return to Europe to fully participate in the remaining tournaments. That will make a big difference.
Hawktard,
I feel Sorry 4 the woman who gave birth 2 U, what a complete waste, carrying an IMBECILE for 9 months my goodness, you truly are a useless, sadistic, MORONIC, perverted old monkey.
Your useless life is a waste and i hope you don’t run away this time or call your mummy for help, he( i didn’t misspell) can’t help you, no one can.
You were born a FOOL, you are living as FOOL, who loves sleeping with men and you are a man, you definitely will die as a FOOL, rot as FOOL, go to hell as FOOL, burn as FOOL and meet the devil as FOOL if you don’t repent.
I feel sorry for your parents and if you have siblings. my condolences to them, no mother, father, brother or sister deserves this curse from the pit of hell, you are curse and a shame to your family, an abomination to the world, i tried my best to be a friend who told you the truth and nothing but the truth but now i know you are a sick, demented reprobate who will likely end in hell but that’s not my prayer, despite your stupidity and obvious depravity i wish you the best and hope that one day i know it’s not today but one day you see your foolishness and turn away from your demonically inspired hopeless life.
If you don’t do it 4 yourself, do it for your family or the world, less HAWKTARD’s is good for the world, don’t you think?
Please consider this and change your worthless life for the better b4 it’s too late.
Stanley chill the fuck out man.
When this worthless FOOL spews his useless trash, you keep quiet.
When i respond to this HAWKTARD, you tell me to chill, please i am begging U, let this be the last time you tell me to chill.
Stanley I’m just telling you that because you seem to be taking the shots at Hawkeye a bit too far. I just didn’t want to see such violent arguing and offensive words being thrown around from either of you guys.
And please don’t tell me to keep quiet because I’m only saying that for your own good so you don’t get banned from here. You can’t just tell someone they are “going to hell” or “meeting the devil.” You also implied hawks has a guy for a mom. That’s just fucked up that you think that’s a good way to diss someone along with all the other appalling things you said. I like you as I like everyone on this great site and generally agree with a good amount of the bold predictions you have (like Kyrgios in Beijing over Rafa) and respect you being a fellow Fed fan and I also think Hawk’s comments might be a little extreme but when you say something THIS extreme (and have previously implied some pretty controversial viewpoints on nontennis things), it can really be just too much bro. I just think u and Hawks both need to not fire shots at each other and I think extreme opinions not involving tennis should be left out of this site. It just causes commotion when extreme statements are made.
Benny G, there are MANY truths in your comments not a few and i get it.
I didn’t tell you to be quiet, plzzz read my comments carefully.
It’s not my prayer or wish that HAWKTARD ends up in hell, GOD forbid that would be extremely wrong but i know that he will regret the direction that he is heading to for all eternity if he doesn’t repent and seek for God’s mercy and grace.
HAWKTARD has told me lots of things in the past that he champions/support, some he practice and most of this things are not just wrong or bad, the are ungodly, evil, demonically inspired from the pits of hell.
For example when a human being who was given life thinks it’s ok to murder innocent, defenseless children in the womb, children who are God’s creation, who have done nothing wrong, that’s demonic and there are other immoral and filthy things this useless FOOL, worse than a FOOL, an insane ANIMAL, a demonic MORON have told me, this deranged idiot not only support and defend numerous EVILS but he attacks those who stand up for what’s right & what’s Godly.
Calling someone who steals things that doesn’t belong to them a thief is not an insult but the truth.
A murderer is a murderer whether he or she commits the act or support/defend those who do.
I haven’t insulted HAWKTARD, i have simply told him the truth.
Benny G, i am not saying HAWKTARD has a guy as mom, if you haven’t been following our conversation you will misunderstand, about my comments in the non-tennis forum, you can’t point to one topic that i discussed/commented on that is false or wrong if i wasn’t joking, i try to be truthful when discussing important subjects.
I don’t agree with some of the things you said and i have pointed out some but there were many wise things u said and i will make some adjustments.
@ Benny
You are too tolerant my friend. I’m sick and tired of seeing Stanley’s non-sensical ramblings littering this site. Pay out enough rope and with any luck he’ll get banned and move on elsewhere to continue his trolling.
Get out stanley #NotWanted
Look, Stanley is insane in his predictions but let him speak. This is for discussing tennis not arguing
Oliver, what do you mean by Stanley is insane in his predictions?
This site was down or hacked a few days ago but i think it still has problems, posting comments take too much time, opening articles the same, is anyone having the same problem?
Just some of them. I’m backing you up
I actually thought N. Kyrgios would win 4 real but he didn’t, Rafa won fair & square.
I didn’t watch the match live but i later watched the replay, Rafito was Amazing, Forceful, he was really good.
N. Kyrgios has some problems, this guy is a good player but sometimes his loses are lost in a disappointing way, when R. Federer or some other good player’s loses, he/they lose fighting like a man till the end.
On prediction, my bank account speaks for itself. I am really doing well, i have never won this big in my life not trying to boast just the truth.
Just calm down. Anybody with me when I say Rafa’s comeback is better than Roger’s. This is because Fed was making it to grand slam finals and semis finals consistently whereas Rafa wasn’t even getting to the quarters (plus Rafa’s 2017 has been better than Roger’s)
Can’t argue when Rafa is no.1 and Fed no.2. Yes, Fed is 36 so his comeback is spectacular but he has to take longer breaks during the year in order to do well at events he so wished dearly to win. Rafa OTOH, just plays consistently well throughout the whole season (and exceptionally well on clay!).
To me, Rafa’s comeback is more impressive in that 1) he doesn’t need to skip any event to concentrate on those where he has better chances of winning; 2) he’s better at the slams too – one win and one final vs Fed’s one win and one QF on HC slams; 3) he’s still fit and healthy and winning titles at this time of the year when in the past, he’s either injured or suffered from fatigue.
well, its also a age thing. Just the fact that Fed is No.2 at age 36 is equally impressive, IMO.
As of now, I would agree that Rafa’s comeback is more impressive. In order for me to feel that Federer’s is more impressive, he would need to at least win Shanghai and WTF, while Rafa winning nothing else. While that is possible, I wouldn’t bet on Rafa not winning one of the remaining Big titles given his current form. However, if at the seasons end, Federer ended up with 2 majors, WTF, and 3 masters titles on the season, I don’t see how I couldn’t consider him having a better overall season. I would be surprised, though, if Rafa wasn’t able to capitalize on one of the three remaining big titles, so at this moment I have to favor him a little bit to end up with the most impressive season, especially if he can end up winning one or more of these big titles for the first time. That would be impressive, indeed! Rafa will be the World #1 barring some sort of injury or catastrophic collapse which I don’t see happening. Basically, in order for Federer to have had the more impressive season in my eyes, he would have to make it so that Rafa’s only big title not from the two month clay swing is the US Open. And that’s a bit too tall an order, I believe…
I just think Fed winning 2 GS in a year as a 36 year old is one of the most impressive feat in tennis history.
Make no mistake that Rafa is having a better year. But, just in terms of comeback, I think Fed’s comeback is significantly harder to pull off given his age.
Yes, the age aspect with Federer is definitely a feat in itself.
That’s my thought process. If you take their years, Rafa is the deserving number one who has a better year than anyone obviously. But he’s 31, not 36 like Fed.
True!
But Fed at 31 couldn’t pull off the feat of becoming no.1, so to me, that makes Rafa’s run to no.1 at age 31 looks very impressive. Also, Rafa was having two poor seasons prior to this, making his comeback looks very impressive.
Fed no doubt was no.17 at the start of the season, but his was due to not playing much last season because of injury. His form was good from 2014 to 2015, even 2016 before his injuries.
Well lucky you do have to take into account that Fed at 31 had the rest of the big three fully fit and healthy and in their mid 20s. This year, Rafa has been amazing of course but it is a lot easier to get to number one when Djokovic and Murray are injured all season and Roger skips the whole clay court season. Not trying to diminish his season because it has been an amazing one with fantastic dominance during clay season and these last two months but he did not have all of his rivals healthy and chasing after him like Roger did when he was Rafa’s age.
Federer did reach #1 at age 31. You must mean year end #1?
I know I’m late but will have picks from QF on soon.
Benny, when Fed was 31 in 2012, Rafa was injured and had to miss the rest of the season after Wimbledon. Given how well Rafa could play during 2010-2011 when he’s not injured, I would guess that had he not being injured in 2012, he would have ended the season ranked ahead of Fed. I’ve to make a correction, Fed did reach no.1 in 2012 and stayed there for 17 weeks, just not YE no.1.
While we have Djoko and Murray now injured and out, the way Rafa was playing on clay this year I doubt a fully fit Djoko could beat him. Also, at the USO, Rafa could also beat Djoko, given that he’s 2-1 vs Djoko there.
We’ll see how Rafa’s 2017 ends, whether he’ll be YE no.1 and having more points than Fed’s 2012. My guess is yes and yes as answers.
Lucky, Rafa wasn’t injured until Wimbledon. He still won the French Open and made the AO final. That was during the year Roger turned 31. I am aware that Rafa technically was injured right when Fed turned 31 but when Roger had turned it in August of that year, Rafa had already done a lot of great things that year. And even with Rafa and Novak and Andy posting great results, he still did reach number one again. Andy was playing phenomenal after still and beat Fed at Olympics in fact and despite beating Novak at Cincy, Roger lost the number one ranking at the O2 after having clinched a record 300 weeks at number one. Still my point is everyone was playing healthy each week for most of the year and when Rafa was out, Novak and Andy were still balling. You see my point right?
But Benny, Fed wasn’t winning more slams that year even if say there’s no Rafa or no Djoko around. I doubt Fed would beat Djoko at the AO even if there’s no Rafa in the SF; or beat Rafa at the FO if there’s no Djoko in the SF! So effectively, Fed would still be winning one slam, ie Wimbledon in that year but perhaps made another slam final.
Rafa might be having an easier draw at the USO 2017 but given the way he played there, no one could say for certain that a healthy and fit Djoko (if he’s playing), would beat Rafa, when Rafa did beat Djoko there twice when Rafa was playing well. Djoko wasn’t that great in winning USO Finals when he’s 2/7 in Finals there!
I’m not saying that Fed has done badly when he’s 31, but just not playing well enough to win two slams to secure the YE no.1, when there’s someone who outperformed him.
You’re missing my point. It’s all hypothetical anyways because we don’t know if Roger and Rafa would have dominated this season if Novak and Andy were fully fit and constantly playing. My whole point was that at 31, Roger was facing the big four fully fit and playing well for first half of season and two of the big four in great form for the second half of the season while Rafa hasn’t had to deal with Novak or Andy at all and Fed has meanwhile limited his schedule all season because he is 36. And Fed for sure could have won another slam in 2012 if Novak and Rafa were gone lol. We just don’t know though. You say it’s unlikely Rafa loses at these bigger events even if Novak is playing him at places like US Open but you say it’s unlikely Fed wins a slam in 2012 with either Novak or Rafa gone? That’s just a biased opinion I’m sorry. Remember that was Rafa’s first hard court title in quite some time. You don’t think Novak, aka the guy who has done extremely well at US Open in recent times, could’ve beaten Nadal at the US Open this year? The point is it’s all hypothetical and pointless to bring up what could’ve happened. My whole point is that it’s slightly unfair to compare Rafa’s 31 year old season to Roger’s when Roger had the big four in their mid 20’s and most importantly healthy and playing all year. The age aspect is honestly not even a big deal because Rafa is the same age as Novak and Andy, just a bit older. The actual reason it is unfair to compare is that Novak and Andy have been injured and playing like dog shit all year long with Roger as Rafa’s only big four competition and he has skipped a lot of time. That was far from the case in 2012 when Fed was 31.
Lol, Fed needed BOTH Rafa and Djoko be gone before he could win another slam in 2012! Read again, I said Rafa OR Djoko!
Anyway, I shall wait till the end of the season and see how Rafa does by then, before giving my final thoughts about who’s playing better tennis and achieving more at age 31.
PS. It may be hypothetical but we may make the assumption that had Djoko and Murray weren’t around in 2012, Fed would most likely win all those finals against lesser opponents in place of both of them.
Shanghai predictions –
QF:
Nadal over Querrey
Cilic over Anderson
Del Potro over Isner
Federer over Goffin
SF:
Nadal over Cilic
Federer over Del Potro
Final:
Federer over Nadal
I’ve same pick as you Benny, until the final, when I have Rafa over Fed. Rafa is simply too good now and I doubt Fed can or will beat him.
Yeah those are good picks lucky. I personally think Roger wins because it is such a fast surface and by the time he’s in the final (assuming he gets there), he will be warmed up for the occasion and it is honestly the perfect surface for him to extend his current win streak over Nadal. We will see though. They both have to get there. We can only hope we get yet another Fedal showdown!!
Benny, Beijing is also very quick surface. Shanghai looked not that quick to me, after watching the matches yesterday. There were still so many rallies going on.
Anyway, quick surface or not, Rafa can win when he’s in such mood and playing so well!
If you say so. It’s just that I’ve heard that in the past Shanghai has always been the fastest surface on the tour. I’m forgetting who mentioned it on this site recently but it has also been said by the ATP in their measurements of the court speeds for masters 1000s that this event is by far the fastest. Also if Fed is in the mood (which he should be as he is trying to chase down the year end number one) then he will have a great chance as he has won this event before and is the best player on the quicker surfaces for sure (as shown by his titles this year in AO Wimby and past countless wins in places like Cincy). This was just my thought process j the pick but the red hot Nadal is also a very sensible pick obviously.
BTW, Fed didn’t look like he was playing well after Wimbledon, I doubt he could suddenly play well despite the quick surface here. Rafa OTOH is playing better and better, if he’s not feeling fatigued, he may be good for the title here.
I wouldn’t underestimate Fed’s ability to play into form. We’ve seen him do it after breaks multiple times this season.
Dimi may not survive to meet Querrey, about to lose to Harrison now.
Dimi did make it, saving 2 match points. He survived for another day to play in Shanghai.
Kind of Rafa start against Pouille in the previous tournament… that might empower him even more.
I had harrison winning dang. I knew Ryan could get it done. Just barely missed out on the upset
6-3 in third set breaker
WHAT? Shit!!
8-6 in the 3rd-set TB;
http://www.flashscore.com/match/vBZWtk2C/#point-by-point;3
Harrison had 3 MPs.
Cilic can be dangerous here for both Nadal and Fed. But it would be hard to beat both of them.
Cilic will disappoint again; how on earth he could lose to Mannarino at Tokyo after playing so well the whole tournament? Cilic is simply erratic!
As for Dimi, I think he may lose early here, probably to Querrey. He simply couldn’t play well in two B2B events.
He is erratic, but that makes him extremely unpredictable. We can win when least expected. I hope not here. I want another epic final. Rafa and Roger have to meet at least once more this season.
I hope Rafa loses early and gets some rest. I hope he does not overplay and get injured in the process.
I can’t see the future but Rafito won’t be able to win 2 GS or have the success that Roger Federer has accomplished at 36 yrs old in 2017.
This guy( RF) is just Incredible, i love sports and i play as well, mostly weekends but during weekday’s early in the morning.
I am not as young as Dominic Thiem and i am not as old as Kei Nishikori, i don’t know what it’s like to be competitive or train hard at 36 yrs old but this i know, it ain’t easy 4 me at my age and i am fit.
Irrespective of how the season ends, R. Federer will be the best tennis player this year and one of the best professional athlete this year, i am not trying to belittle other player’s and their OK success, ok amazing achievements, U happy now? Lol!
Roger Federer has simply been ROGERLICIOUS this year and at his age his success is just crazy, long live the King of tennis, the G.O.A.T.
Or have the success that Roger Federer has accomplished at 36 yrs old when he becomes 36.
Stan sweet M&M (Money man), what? Roger Federer has simply been ROGERLICIOUS?
He is the fake Roger. I am the REAL/ORIGINAL Roger and that is what people call me ROGERLICIOUS!Ha,ha,ha…
But you are M&Mlicious stan!lol
Thanks man but R. Federer is not fake, you two are original.
CNN is fake news.
In his original analysis of this tournament Ricki mentioned it was notorious for retirements. Don’t know how many in total so far but yesterday alone there were three including the disgraceful one by Curious.