Roger Federer gets tough draw at Shanghai Rolex Masters

Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro have been drawn in the same half of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, raising the prospect of a rematch of their gripping semi-final battle one year ago at the Qizhong Tennis Centre.

Federer last year rallied from a set down to beat the Argentine in the semis before taking out Rafael Nadal in the final to claim his 27th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title.

The Federer-Del Potro rivalry has been overshadowed over the years by the triangular battles between Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic. But their 25-match FedEx ATP Head2Head series – which Federer leads 18-7 - has produced some epic contests.

In 12 meetings since 2012 Roland Garros, 10 have gone the distance and only one has been decided in straight sets. Federer backed up his Shanghai semi-final win last year with a three-set win over the Tower of Tandil just weeks later in the Basel final. But Delpo took out Federer 7-6 in the third in the BNP Paribas Open final in March this year in their most recent meeting.

Federer and Del Potro, along with Nadal and Djokovic, are the players to have so far qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held in London 11-18 November. Federer is a six-time champion; Del Potro is chasing his first title and will be making his first appearance since 2013.

In Shanghai, two-time tournament champion Federer will begin his title defense against the winner of Russian Daniil Medvedev and China’s Ze Zhang. The Swiss is seeded to meet Canadian Milos Raonic in the third round, Kei Nishikori or Diego Schwartzman in the quarter-finals and Del Potro in the semis.

In his most recent appearance at the Masters 1000 level, Federer lost in the Cincinnati final to Djokovic. He has not played a tour-level match since a shock fourth-round loss to Australian John Millman at the US Open.

Del Potro opens against the winner of Argentine Leonardo Mayer and in-form Frenchman Richard Gasquet before a tough third-round match against one of Nick Kyrgios, a qualifier, Stan Wawrinka, or 13th seed Borna Coric.

Del Potro is seeded to meet No. 6 seed Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals.

In the bottom half of the draw, second seed Novak Djokovic will put his 13-match winning streak on the line in his opener against the winner of German Maximilian Marterer and French veteran Jeremy Chardy. He could get his chance to avenge his shock Roland Garros quarter-final loss to Italian Marco Cecchinato in the third round. He is seeded to meet his vanquished Wimbledon final opponent Kevin Anderson in the quarter-finals.

Djokovic owns a tournament-record three titles in Shanghai, winning crowns in 2012-13 and in 2015, when he dropped just 25 games en route to the title, beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 6-4 in the final.

Djokovic is returning to tour-level play for the first time since winning his 14th major at the US Open. Earlier in the US summer the Serb became the first man to win a ninth different Masters 1000 singles title at Cincinnati to complete the Career Golden Masters.

Three-time Masters 1000 champion Alexander Zverev, who is next in line to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, will open against the winner of Canadian Denis Shapovalov and Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, who find themselves in respective semi-finals in Tokyo and Beijing Saturday. Fifth seed Marin Cilic may await in the quarter-finals.

Play begins Sunday.

atpworldtour.com

Roger Federer needs some wins at the Shanghai Masters

It might sound strange given Roger Federer's recent Laver Cup exploits, but the all-time men's Grand Slam singles champ could really use a title.

That is, one at an ATP-sanctioned tournament. It's something Federer hasn't experienced since he outfoxed Milos Raonic on grass in the Stuttgart final in early June.

Sure, Federer is still ranked No. 2. But in the annual "race" tally (which becomes more relevant as the year goes on), he has fallen to No. 4. In his last major tournament appearance, he wilted in the sopping heat of the US Open, losing in four sets against Aussie journeyman John Millman in the fourth round. Granted, Federer's chances of finishing the year No. 1 are slim to none, but it would be a real bummer for him to not end the year with at least one more high note.

Federer will get a chance to right his slightly listing ship starting Monday, and he couldn't ask for a better place to do it than the Shanghai Masters 1000, where he's defending champion.

Shanghai is likely the final Masters-grade tournament he'll play before the ATP World Tour Finals, which makes it all the more significant. "I don't plan to play Paris [an October Masters 1000 tournament]," Federer told ESPN.com recently. "But that a little bit that depends on how Basel goes."


Basel is a second-tier ATP 500, but it's also Federer's Swiss hometown. An eight-time champion there, Federer uses Basel as a tuneup for the World Tour Finals. Should he suffer an early loss, coupled with a so-so performance Shanghai, Paris might come back into play.

Federer has won Shanghai four times -- twice as part of the Masters Series and twice when the city hosted the more exalted World Tour Finals. No player has won in Shanghai more often. Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are next best with three titles apiece.

But Murray is done for the year, still trying to recover his form following hip surgery. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal is out injured as well, leaving Federer as top seed. Juan Martin del Potro, Alexander Zverev and Djokovic round out the top four seeds. Federer has his work cut out. All four men have had wins over him in Masters finals within the past 13 months, give or take a few days.

Federer hasn't been sweating the details, though. His Asian swing this year began early with days of meetings with his new mega-sponsor, Uniqlo. He was also stoked about introducing his twin boys, Leo and Lennart, now 4 years old, to the wonders of the Far East.

But thoughts and concerns about Djokovic's service return or del Potro's forehand probably are increasing in Federer's mind as Shanghai approaches. He is defending 1,000 rankings points, so no matter what happens, his official ranking can only remain the same or go down. He knows that with his limited schedule, he's performing a rankings high-wire act.

"Upsets happen when you play less," Federer said. "So then if you don't schedule enough tournaments your ranking goes down fast. So you have to have even more confidence and trust in yourself when you do lose a match maybe you should win."

Federer demonstrated that confidence with his play in Laver Cup, against John Isner in a bout decided by a match tiebreaker and with a more routine win over Nick Kyrgios. There will be longer matches in Shanghai.

The bromance between Federer and Djokovic was a major story at Laver Cup, and how it might affect a potential matchup is likely to become a theme in Shanghai. That's all well and good. Let the cheery afterglow of Laver Cup linger for a little while longer.

But remember both men were quick to caution this new phase in a relationship that previously could only be called guarded will not dilute the intensity of their rivalry. They will not, as Federer joked more than once, "be going on vacation together."

Djokovic is hardly Federer's only worry in the upcoming week. Fed needs another win, and he's running out of time in 2018 to put one up.

espn.com

Serena Williams to face Roger Federer & Belinda Bencic in Hopman Cup doubles next year

Serena Williams is set to face Roger Federer in her first event of the 2019 season when the USA play Switzerland in the mixed doubles at the Hopman Cup.

Williams, 37, has not played since her controversial US Open final defeat by Naomi Osaka in September.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion partners Frances Tiafoe, while 20-time Grand Slam winner Federer and Belinda Bencic will seek to defend their title.

Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter will represent Great Britain in Perth.

"The Aussie fans are always so warm and supportive and the Hopman Cup has always given me a great start to the season, especially ahead of the Australian Open," said Williams, who pulled out of this month's China Open.

Williams will be playing in Australia for the first time since winning the 2017 Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant, having missed last year's tournament as she was not fully fit to return following the birth of daughter Olympia.

The Hopman Cup runs from 29 December until 5 January, with the 2019 Australian Open taking place from 14-27 January.

The mixed team event features eight nations split into two groups, with teams facing each other in sessions that consist of a men's and women's singles match and a mixed doubles match.

Each team plays the other three in their group, and the top teams in each group then meet in the final.

The USA are due to meet Switzerland on New Year's Day in Group B, which also features Great Britain and Greece.

Group A consists of France, Spain, Germany and hosts Australia.

Federer, 37, and Bencic, 21, won Switzerland's first Hopman Cup since 2001 earlier this year.
Teams

Group A

France - Lucas Pouille and Alize Cornet

Spain - David Ferrer and Garbine Muguruza

Germany - Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber

Australia - Matt Ebden and Ashleigh Barty

Group B

Great Britain - Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter

Greece - Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari

Switzerland - Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic

USA - Frances Tiafoe and Serena Williams

www.bbc.com

Martina Hingis announces she's pregnant on her 38th Birthday

Martina Hingis Facebook

Paris - Former world No 1 Martina Hingis marked her 38th birthday on Sunday by announcing she is expecting a baby.

"Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Happy to share that this will be the last time we'll celebrate as a couple...excited to announce that we will become a family of three," she tweeted without revealing the date of birth.

Hingis was the youngest ever Grand Slam champion and world No 1, spending 209 weeks at the top of women's tennis and winning five Grand Slam singles titles.

She retired in 2017 and married former Swiss team doctor Harald Leemann in July this year.

sport24.co.za

Happy Birthday! and congrats on the future Swiss Miss Tennis star!. 

Glad to see she's finally finding balance and happiness in her personal life. 

Roger Federer weighs in on Serena Williams U.S. Open Final controversy

Grand slam champion Roger Federer has dismissed accusations of sexism made by Serena Williams after her US Open final defeat to Japan’s Naomi Osaka.

Williams triggered a global firestorm earlier this month after claiming official Carlos Ramos penalised her because she was a woman.

The tennis star was cited for three code violations including being coached, breaking her racket and calling the umpire a thief. The second two violations cost her a point and a game.

At a press conference after the match Williams said:

“For me to say ‘thief’, and for him to take a game, it made me feel like it was a sexist remark. He’s never taken a game from a man because they said ‘thief’.”

Federer said umpiring styles varied from umpire to umpire, suggesting it was something that should examined.

“It’s interesting but I think it’s important to look at it,” Federer told KVUE. “Every umpire has their own style, it’s just how it is in any sport.”

“In tennis you might have an umpire that gives more coaching violations and another guy goes more to time violation.

“You might get one guy who knows that this guy misbehaves quite often so I’ll give him a warning quicker or I’ll be more lenient with a guy because he’s a nice guy and just can’t control himself. I think it really depends on the situation.”

Federer shrugged off Williams’ claim Ramos’ decision was due to sexism but acknowledged that there had been mistakes made.

“I hope it’s not the case, but I think what happened, obviously there were mistakes along the way and there should be more discretion sometimes.”

“At the same time, they have to do their job, that’s what we want them to do.”

TheAustralian.com.au

Roger Federer, the epitome of Swiss diplomacy. 

Roger Federer & Sascha Zverev help team Europe seize 2nd Laver Cup

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Team Europe are Laver Cup champions once again after Alexander Zverev fought back to beat Kevin Anderson and clinch the winning points in Chicago.

Zverev came through 6-7(3) 7-5 10-7 in a match tiebreaker to seal a 13-8 victory for Europe, sparking wild scenes as the blue bench emptied with players racing to celebrate on court.

Twelve months on from their success at the inaugural Laver Cup in Prague, Zverev and Roger Federer were able to celebrate getting their hands on the trophy for a second time, while Novak Djokovic, Grigor Dimitrov, David Goffin and Kyle Edmund were champions on debut.

“It was such a close match all around, not only this one but all weekend, a few points here and there and it could have been different,” said Zverev.

“I’m just happy to get the win and we defended the title, that’s the most important thing.

Team World went desperately close to forcing a deciding match between Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios, a remarkable effort after they fell 7-1 behind following Saturday’s afternoon session.

A dramatic doubles win for John Isner and Jack Sock, saving two match points against Zverev and Federer, put the reds in front for the first time on Sunday, and Isner then missed out in an epic clash with Federer that saw the American fail to convert three match points.

That left the destiny of the trophy in the hands of Zverev and he duly finished the job, but only after an almighty battle.

The German saw a couple of early break-point chances disappear, while Anderson racked up six opportunities without making the breakthrough.

Tiebreakers were always likely to be necessary, and it was the South African who grabbed the initiative in the opener, surging into a 6-2 lead and converting his second set point with a heavy backhand.

The second set looked to be following a similar pattern until Anderson had a golden opportunity at 0-40, but Zverev played himself out of trouble superbly, to the delight of his watching teammates.

When a net cord then took him to break point, the German stepped in and upped the intensity, drawing a backhand error as Anderson was finally broken.

With the scores level, another match tiebreaker came into play at the United Center, and it was another rollercoaster.

Anderson edged ahead several times, only to be repeatedly pegged back, and an unplayable Zverev lob shifted the momentum decisively.

In a tournament that had seen numerous match points go unconverted, Zverev made no mistake this time, falling back to the court as his teammates and captain piled on top of him in celebration.

“It’s been an unbelievable week,” said Borg.

“This is actually my favorite week of the year. I’m very proud of my team, we knew it’s going to be very difficult to beat Team World with John as the captain. He has a great team, they’re very professional.”

McEnroe said: “I’d just like to congratulate Team Europe. It was a great effort, great match, unbelievably exciting.

“This team [World], I’m so proud of these guys. They’ve got great camaraderie and we’re going to win this one next year!”


LaverCup.com

Roger Federer wins a thriller vs Isner to give Team Europe a chance at retaining Laver Cup

Roger Federer saved three match points as he beat John Isner in a dramatic match to put Team Europe one win away from retaining the Laver Cup in Chicago.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion came through a pulsating encounter at the United Center 6-7(5) 7-6(6) 10-7 to give his side a 10-8 lead.

Alexander Zverev can take Team Europe to the winning 13-point mark if he beats Kevin Anderson in Match 11.

Federer steadied the European ship after he and Zverev had failed to convert two match points in Sunday’s opening doubles against Isner and Jack Sock.

That defeat meant the team in blue had seen a 7-1 lead turn into a 7-8 deficit, giving Team World and their home crowd real belief that they could complete a miraculous fightback.

It was still a tall order for Isner, who beat Rafael Nadal at the same stage last year, but he stuck to his game plan of big serves and short points, and Federer made little impact as they powered towards a tiebreaker.

From an early break down the American overhauled Federer with a rasping forehand return on set point that sparked pandemonium on the World bench, with Sock and Nick Kyrgios – both wearing Chicago Bulls jerseys – charging up to celebrate with Isner.

A sweeping forehand down the line and a backhand arrowed cross-court gave Federer the first two break points of the match at 3-3 in the second, but Isner slammed the door shut with some unreturnable serves.

Unable to get the breakthrough, Federer was increasingly vulnerable as the set progressed, and Isner almost capitalized when the Swiss first served to stay in the match.

Two blistering winners brought up match point but the American sent a loose forehand long and they headed into a second tiebreaker, with a potential 10-point match tiebreaker beyond that.

In a thrilling passage of play, Isner earned another two match points at 6-4 only for Federer to find an ace and then rip a spectacular backhand winner, and the Swiss went on to level with an ace.

World had now squandered six match points across the three days in Chicago and Federer made sure Europe took advantage once again, taking control from 5-5 in the decider and earning his first match points at 9-6.

Isner saw off the first with a deft volley but Federer clinched it with a forehand after almost two hours of gripping tension, and the Team Europe bench finally challenged their World rivals in the celebration stakes with a display of team press-ups.

Asked if this kind of match was what he had envisioned at the Laver Cup, Federer joked: “I’m not sure if I wanted it to be that exciting but, oh man, what a match, what a weekend. Thank you Chicago.

“Regardless of what happens it’s been a successful week and weekend, we’ve loved it. I couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come now.

“The good thing is we could lose the next one, so that takes the pressure off.”

lavercup.com

Matches like these are what make this event so much fun.  

Not to mention nowhere else will you see Roger Federer play 2 doubles matches, that in itself is worth all the money in my book (despite the fact he lost both this time).

It concerns me a little that he continues to have so much trouble closing out matches when he's in the lead this year (and especially in tie-breaks vs the big servers). 

Hopefully that is something that will turn around for him in the Asian swing in October. 

It was a spectacular comeback by the Swiss man today though, one I will look back on fondly.