Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will be squaring off for the 36th time in their careers when they renew their rivalry in the semifinals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters.
The head-to-head series could be all tied up at 18-17 by the end of play on Saturday, and that will become a reality if Djokovic takes care of business as a slight favorite and maintains his Asian domination. Djokovic has won five of their last seven meetings, including a victory in their most recent and one of their most significant matches. In this summer’s Wimbledon final, the Serb triumphed 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4.
While this Asian swing is never the most important time of year, it is arguably Djokovic’s favorite. The world No. 1 just improved to 24-0 lifetime in Beijing with his fifth straight title there and he is the two-time defending champion in Shanghai. So far this week, Djokovic has defeated Dominic Thiem, Mikhail Kukushkin, and David Ferrer.
Like his opponent, Federer has also dropped one set en route to the semis. The 33-year-old Swiss saved five match points in an opening win over Leonardo Mayer before beating Roberto Bautista Agut and Julien Benneteau.
“I think we always play tough against each other,” Federer noted. “I think we’re both in good shape right now. We both enjoy playing here in Shanghai. He’s playing a great season again. I think I have a good game at the moment. I really hope I can come up with some good shotmaking and solid play because that’s what it’s going to require against him. There are not that many secrets out there. We’ve played each other too many times at this point.”
Federer will give himself a chances if he plays consistently aggressive and serves as well as he did against Benneteau (77 percent, 11 aces, no double-faults) but it is borderline foolish to ever pick against Djokovic in Asia.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
[polldaddy poll=8366129]
Leave a Reply