Roger Federer Feeling The Love In Shanghai

Roger Federer has the aura of an A-list celebrity when he walks around the grounds at any ATP Tour event. Fans pile around for autographs, cameras click and whirr, and his practise sessions are standing room only.

The energy surrounding Federer is heightened even further at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. The second-seeded Swiss is making his eighth appearance at this event, but the adoration he receives from the fans in Shanghai is still just as exciting for him.

”The fans get together [and] really make a conscious effort to show me how excited and happy they are,” Federer said at his pre-tournament press conference on Sunday. “I felt that yesterday at Fan Day. It means a lot to me. You don't get fans grouping together like this anywhere else in the world.”

Although keeping a low profile at the Qi Zhong Tennis Center isn’t quite possible for Federer, he has heartily embraced the extra attention. He realises that it takes just as much time to sign a tennis ball as it does to explain why you can’t sign one. Federer’s eagerness to make his fans a priority has only deepened their connection with him throughout his 21 years on Tour.

”When somebody asks you a question, you try to answer. When somebody asks you for a picture, you try to take it,” Federer said. “It means so much to any fan because it's maybe the first time they've seen you or maybe they have travelled far just to get a chance to be near you or ask you a question.

”Sometimes you're more tired than other days. For the most part, I try to lead by example for the new generation of players who I hope are going to be great for the game. I'm aware that I have the chance and the power to motivate, inspire younger children and set a good example. That's something I have always appreciated and thought was very nice.”

It’s not just the fans who are happy to see Federer, though. The Swiss had a chance to catch up with friend and longtime rival Andy Murray, who also headlines the draw this week. Federer said he’s been closely following Murray’s singles comeback and is optimistic that the Brit still has more great tennis in him.

“It was great to see him again and just chat with him for a little bit,” Federer said. “I think it’s super exciting for the Tour and for us players because he's very much a guy we like and respect a lot. Doesn't have enemies. We need guys like him who also lead by example with hard work and toughness and fairness.

”I love seeing Andy back. I also feel like he’s playing better and better, which is going to be great.”

But now that pleasantries have been exchanged, Federer is ready to get down to business. He has a challenging draw that will see him start against Croatian Marin Cilic or Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas, but believes he’s playing well enough to win his third title in Shanghai.

”The draw is tough here,” Federer said. “It also depends on your opponents a little bit. It's not just every match on my racquet, unfortunately, but I feel like I have good energy left in the tank to go and finish strong.”

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Roger Federer handed a tricky draw at Shanghai Rolex Masters

A challenging draw awaits second seed and two-time champion Roger Federer at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, with the Swiss potentially starting his week against longtime rival Marin Cilic of Croatia.

Cilic will first need to get through Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who defeated Federer four years ago in Shanghai. The Swiss leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Cilic 9-1, including a win in the 2012 Shanghai quarter-finals, but Cilic’s lone victory over Federer came on hard courts at the 2014 US Open. Should Cilic beat Federer, he would become the 10th active player on Tour to pick up 500 tour-level wins.

Federer’s quarter of the draw includes a possible third-round match with No. 13 seed David Goffin of Belgium. The Swiss could take on fifth seed Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals, but the German first needs to get through a tricky section that includes last year’s runner-up and No. 12 seed Borna Coric of Croatia, current Tokyo semi-finalist John Millman of Australia and in-form Russian Andrey Rublev. Coric and Rublev face off in first-round action.

Top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic starts his campaign against the winner of a mouth-watering #NextGenATP clash between Canadian Denis Shapovalov and American Frances Tiafoe. The Serbian’s path doesn’t get easier from there, with No. 16 seed John Isner of the United States and #NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur, who prevailed last week in Zhuhai (d. Mannarino), looming as possible third-round opponents. Isner takes on De Minaur in the opening round.

Sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas shares the same quarter as Djokovic. The Greek could start his week with an all-#NextGenATP showdown against Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. Ninth-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils is also in his section.

Third seed Daniil Medvedev looks to continue his winning ways when he starts against a qualifier or Frenchman Gilles Simon. The Russian has prevailed in 24 of his past 27 matches, including his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the Western & Southern Open (d. Goffin), first ATP Tour title on home soil in St. Petersburg (d. Coric) and maiden Grand Slam final at the US Open (l. to Nadal).

His path could include an all-Russian quarter-final showdown with seventh seed Karen Khachanov. Khachanov must first navigate through a difficult section that includes No. 10 seed Fabio Fognini of Italy and three-time Shanghai champion Andy Murray. The Brit takes on a qualifier in the opening round.

Fourth seed Dominic Thiem begins his week against a qualifier or Chinese wild card Ze Zhang. The Austrian is within striking distance of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fourth consecutive year and is currently fifth in the ATP Race to London. Eighth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, the runner-up at this event in 2016 (l. to Murray), is in the same quarter.

Other notable first-round matches include Tokyo semi-finalist Reilly Opelka of the United States squaring off with Serbian Dusan Lajovic and Goffin battling Richard Gasquet in a rematch of their semi-final two months ago in Cincinnati.

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Not really worried about Cilic, even though he can be tricky, so can Goffin but if Roger is playing like Roger don't see any issues there. 

Zverev is playing better but I think Roger would handle him perhaps better than Rublev (though I would love for a rematch since last time they played Rublev kind of dismantled Fed).

Third Laver Cup in a row for Team Europe!

Roger Federer & Alexander Zvarev win as Europe retains Laver Cup title

Alexander Zverev won the final match for Team Europe in last year's Laver Cup and put in a repeat effort on Sunday in Geneva. The German defeated Milos Raonic 6-4, 3-6, 10-4 to complete a successful title defence for the home team.

Team Europe defeated Team World 13-11 after three exciting days of play and has won the Laver Cup crown in all three years of the competition. Each winning team member will also receive $250,000.

“It was an unbelievable weekend. My team was screaming at me in the locker room before the Match Tie-break, saying this is how I could turn my season around. Without all of these guys on the bench, I couldn’t have done it,” Zverev said. “This is very special, especially playing in front of those guys and having them trust me to play the last match.”

Zverev improved to 5-1 in singles, while Raonic fell to 0-2. He also tied his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Raonic at 2-2.

Zverev laced a forehand winner at 3-3 in the opening set to break Raonic and went on to take the early advantage. Raonic responded in the second set by breaking Zverev at 3-2, then bravely saved four break points on his serve at 5-3 to force a Match Tie-break.

But it was the Canadian who blinked first with the title on the line, hitting a pair of backhand errors to give Zverev a 5/2 advantage. The German nailed a forehand winner on match point and collapsed to the ground in delight after one hour and 29 minutes.

Federer kept Team Europe's title defense alive with a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory over John Isner. Federer leads Isner 8-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry and has won both of their Laver Cup singles matches. The Swiss is undefeated (6-0) in singles at this event, while Isner dropped to 2-4.

”I’m very excited. What an atmosphere and what a match. I’m thrilled that I was able to give something back to the team after a tough Match Tie-break (in doubles) earlier today,” Federer said. “Team Europe has been amazIng. They’ve fought so hard and played so well.”

Federer came out firing and nailed a passing shot winner at 2-2 to earn the lone break of the match. The Swiss remained flawless on serve, winning 83 per cent of his service points (20/24) to grab the opening set.

Both players held serve throughout the second set, but Federer was forced to save a set point at 5-6. He raised his game even further in the tie-break, rifling a forehand winner for a 5/3 mini-break lead and hitting a big first serve to wrap up the match after one hour and 26 minutes.

Earlier in the day, Team World staged a dramatic comeback as Isner/Jack Sock defeated Federer/Stefanos Tsitsipas and Taylor Fritz won a thrilling battle against Dominic Thiem.

It was also announced that the 2020 Laver Cup will be held in Boston. Team Europe captain Bjorn Borg and Team World captain John McEnroe confirmed that they will reprise their roles next year.

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Well we didn't get Fedal in doubles on the final day (due to Rafa being injured). 

But I thought Tsitsipas did outstanding his 2nd time around in the doubles with Fed. Didn't do as well when he played with Nadal the first day. 

They still lost, but boy did Tsitsipas provide a lot of shots for the highlight reel. 

Roger kept a perfect 6-0 record in singles at Laver Cup with the Isner defeat. He may be 38, but the man knows how to turn it on for a home crowd when it's needed. 

Kudos to Rafa and Roger for having faith in Sascha who brought it home again. This is definitely the best he's played all year, who knows it might even turn his season and game around. 

I felt a bit sorry for poor Bautista Augut who they didn't utilize at all, so all he did was sit on the bench for 3 days. Something tells me they regret it given how Fognini played. 

And I honestly thought they were going to lose this one, especially once I found out Rafa was out today, but Zvarev clinched it just as he did last year. 

I don't know what the future of this event will bring without Roger in it, but I hope it remains as fun. 

Already looking forward to Boston 2020.

Roger Federer undefeated in singles at Laver Cup

Roger Federer utilised sound advice from his longest rival on Tour to prevail over a more recent adversary on Saturday at Laver Cup in Geneva. With Rafael Nadal providing strategy from the bench, the Swiss rallied to defeat Nick Kyrgios 6-7(5), 7-5, 10-7 and give Team Europe a 5-3 lead over Team World.

All of Saturday’s matches are worth two points, compared to Friday’s matches that were worth one point. Federer is 3-0 against Kyrgios in Laver Cup play and now leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 6-1.

“I was hoping it was going to be like this. It was amazing,” Federer said. “It was tough to lose that first set. I needed to get some energy, so I was just trying to stay with Nick because if you can turn it around, you can get the crowd behind you. I need some earplugs for the next match!”

Both men traded early service breaks in the first set and eventually forced a tie-break. Federer sprinted to a 4/0 lead, but began to get tight and leak unforced errors. Kyrgios responded by going on a four-point run and won the last three points of the tie-break to take a commanding lead.

Although the Swiss continued to hold serve comfortably, he was unable to make inroads in most of the baseline rallies. His teammates had been silent throughout the match, but Nadal took the reigns and offered statistics with Federer serving to stay in the match at 4-5 in the second set.

”After five shots [in the rally], you are winning more [points] than him,” Nadal said. “I know it’s difficult because he reads the ball so well… Wait for the right one and then attack because he’s not missing.”

The plan worked to perfection as Kyrgios coughed up a pair of unforced errors to hand Federer a break at 5-5. At the next changeover, Nadal urged Federer to add more spin to his serve and hit higher balls to disrupt the Aussie’s rhythm. The strategy produced a comfortable service hold to force a Match Tie-break.

Federer saved his best tennis for when it mattered most. A leaping backhand volley winner gave him a 3/2 mini-break advantage as Kyrgios began to tighten up on his backhand, leading him to take short swings at the ball that allowed the Swiss to pounce. Federer took a 9/4 lead in the Match Tie-break and a forehand sent wide from Kyrgios three points later wrapped up play after one hour and 51 minutes.

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With Isner winning over Zvarev and Jack Sock/Nick Kyrgios prevailing over Nadal/Tsitsipas team Europe only has a 2 point advantage (at 7-5). 

With 3 points for grabs tomorrow this could be the tightest Laver Cup yet. 

Really hoping to see some Fedal doubles tomorrow. 

I am immensely enjoying the back and forth coaching between Nadal and Federer. 

2 of the games greatest giving each other advice, it doesn't get better than that.  

Roger Federer & Alexander Zvarev give Team Europe 3-1 lead in Day 1 of Laver Cup

Roger Federer/Alexander Zverev doubled their pleasure on Friday at the Laver Cup in Geneva, saving six set points in a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Denis Shapovalov/Jack Sock to give Team Europe a 3-1 lead over Team World after Day 1.

“It was a great atmosphere. There’s nothing like playing at home. Sascha carried me in the second set and it was great fun out there,” Federer said. “My back has recovered (since the US Open) and I’m ready to go for more tomorrow.”

Federer improved to 6-2 in Laver Cup play and Zverev is now 5-1. Sock dropped to 6-4 and Shapovalov seeks his first win at this event (0-3).

“I had two great coaches, one on the court and one (Rafael Nadal) on the sidelines,” Zverev said. “I could just shut off my brain and do whatever they told me to do.”

Federer/Zverev delighted the crowd at Palexpo by breaking Shapovalov for a 3-1 lead in the opening set and rode that momentum to an early advantage. A strong return from Zverev led to an immediate break of Sock’s serve in the opening game of the second set.

Shapovalov/Sock struggled on break points and missed their first nine opportunities, but Shapovalov made good on their 10th chance by ripping a backhand return to break Federer and level the set at 4-4. But with Zverev serving at 4-5, the Canadian-American pair were unable to convert on six set points.

A costly double fault from Shapovalov at 5-5 handed a critical break to Federer/Zverev. The Swiss took advantage of the opportunity and served out the match after 97 minutes, marking the longest doubles match in Laver Cup history.

In the first match of the night session, #NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas made his Laver Cup debut a memorable one by overcoming an equipment malfunction and a determined Taylor Fritz to prevail 6-2, 1-6, 10-7. Tsitsipas’ shoelace broke at 2/2 in the Match Tie-break, but the 21-year-old made the surprising decision to continue playing.

”I didn’t want to stop the match. That was quite tough because I was scared I was going to lose my shoe during the point,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview. “The momentum changed in the tie-break. I found my rhythm again and had a clear mind on the court.”

Tsitsipas raced to a 5/2 lead in the Match Tie-break, but Fritz responded with a series of aggressive forehand runs to go on a four-point run. The American hit his first double fault of the match at 7/7 and Tsitsipas, No. 7 in the ATP Rankings, fired two big serves to give Team Europe a 2-1 lead.

The day session saw Dominic Thiem save three match points to defeat Denis Shapovalov and give Team Europe their first point, but Jack Sock responded for Team World by beating Fabio Fognini for his first singles win of the season.

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Roger Federer: Nadal is pumped for Laver Cup

Laver Cup Twitter

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are teaming up again at the 2019 Laver Cup, which starts Friday in Geneva. And Nadal can't wait to get started.

“He couldn't be more pumped up for this event,” Federer said on Wednesday. “He just won the US Open. It would have been so easy for him to say, 'Look, I need a break.' But he said, 'No, my break's coming afterwards. I push it all aside, and I'm doing this because I really believe in the concept of the Laver Cup. And I believe in you guys.'”

The players were welcomed and made a public appearance on the balcony of the Palais Eynard, Parc des Bastions on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the third edition of the Laver Cup, which pits the best of Team Europe against the best of Team World.

“It's been energetic, it's been thrilling, it's been exciting. The two teams have finally clashed and seen each other. We are all ready to go,” Federer said.

He and Nadal combined forces for Team Europe during the inaugural Laver Cup, in Prague in 2017. The two all-time greats played doubles together, beating Team World members Sam Querrey and Jack Sock 6-4, 1-6, 10-5.

Expect Federer/Nadal to take the court together again as the two practised doubles together on Wednesday against teammates Alexander Zverev and Fabio Fognini. The team competition gets underway on Friday.

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