TENNIS ATP SHANGHAI – Roger Federer ended Novak Djokovic’s run of 28 wins on Chinese soil with a 6-4, 6-4 win. The Swiss player will face Gilles Simon in Sunday’s final after the Frenchman beat Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 7-6(1).
Roger Federer’s performance in the second semifinal match against Novak Djokovic was one to remember. The Swiss former world number one controlled the match from start to finish with his attacking style of play that kept the Serb under pressure and unable to find an answer to the questions Federer was submitting him.
In the final of the penultimate Master 1000 of the season the Swiss will find Gilles Simon who reached his second final at this level after beating Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 7-6(1) with a confident display. The Frenchman was solid on serve losing just seven points and broke serve twice in the first set. In the second set Simon could break his opponent, but he never gave Lopez a breaking chance before dominating the tie-break 7-1.
Simon will return to the top 20 on Monday and he was pleased with the way he played in the semifinal, “I was feeling really good from the baseline. I felt I almost didn’t lose one point from the baseline the whole match. I was really playing good on my service games. I lost seven points in the match. It never happened to me on my serve. I was in control. But it was only this time. The two last times I played him, I lost. I was just feeling better tonight.”
In the second and more anticipated semifinal of the day, Novak Djokovic was beaten by Federer ending his run of 28 wins on Chinese soil between the tournaments of Beijing and Shanghai. The match between the two seeds turned in the 5th game of the first set when the Serb made a couple of unforced errors with his forehand giving the Swiss two break points. The first was saved by Nole with a passing shot following a chip & charge return by Federer. On the second break point Federer used his sliced backhand to good effect and Djokovic couldn’t dig up the ball after it hardly bounced. In the following game the world number one had the chance to break back, but the Swiss hit a forehand winner that wrong footed his opponent. The break was enough for Federer to win the first set 6-4 in 38 minutes of play.
The second set started with another break for Federer. Djokovic continued to make unforced errors and his confidence seemed to have been shaken by the break in the first set. The match could have ended earlier if Federer had been able to convert one of the four break points in the fifth game that lasted eight and a half minutes, but somehow the Serb kept himself within reach. As the set was approaching the end, Nole started to reduce the errors as Federer started to feel the importance of the points forcing the Swiss to work hard to keep his last two service games. Yet Federer continued to return well (one could say “like Djokovic”) gaining two match points in the ninth game, but the Serb saved himself with his serve. In the tenth game Federer served for the match ahead 6-4, 5-4 and at 30 all he procured himself the third match point with an ace. The match ended fittingly with Federer closing the match with another point won at the net after one hour and 35 minutes of play.
As usual Djokovic was graceful in defeat, “I think I did not play too bad. It’s just that he played everything he wanted to play. He played the perfect match. I think he’s going to tell you how he felt, but that’s how I felt he played. He played an amazing match.”
