In what brought back memories of the 1993 attack on Monica Seles, where she was stabbed in the back during a quarterfinal match in Hamburg, Germany by a crazed fan, top-ranked Roger Federer heads to the Shanghai Masters in the face of a death threat of his own.

Late last month on the Chinese website baidu.com, a user who goes by the screen name "Blue Cat Polytheistic Religion Founder O7" posted this chilling message:
"On October 6, I plan to assassinate Federer for the purpose of tennis extermination," adding a doctored photo of a decapitated Federer kneeling on the tennis court and someone holding an axe standing nearby (h/t CNN).
Tournament organizers are taking the threat very seriously and explained to reporters that they have taken precautions to ensure that no harm comes to the No. 1 men's player in the world:
The Shanghai Rolex Masters has security in place for our players and every precaution is taken to make sure players are kept safe and comfortable and allowed to do the job they are here for; to play tennis and provide their fans with the thrill of watching them in action.
Federer, who has not played since leading Switzerland in the Davis Cup playoffs last month, has surprisingly been able to brush the threat aside, making no mention of it upon his arrival.