Masters Shanghai: Roger Federer beats Rafael Nadal for the 4th time this year

Photo: Andy Wong, Associated Press
Federer wins his 4th victory this season against Nadal.

Roger Federer was extended to four series wins this season against Rafael Nadal with the favourite 6-4, 6-3 in the final of Masters in Shanghai on Sunday.

The Swiss, who has won 19 titles in the Grand Slam, now has a record of 23-15 against the Spanish in their career. It has not been confronted with the less ball breakage, and he started and finished the match with a break at the expense of Nadal.

“I didn’t know what to expect before the game, said Federer. I thought I would have difficulty in the beginning of the meeting due to the fact that I had finished my duel in the semi-finals very late the night before. “

“Surprisingly, I was very relaxed prior to the meeting. I had a game plan well defined before the face [Nadal]. I set the tone from, and then I could take my ease. “

In spite of its successes in 2017, Federer does not believe that he will one day return to the threshold of respectability in these duels against Nadal.

“It doesn’t happen. We do not have enough time to spend on the circuit. We are too high in the standings, which means that we can not compete in the final of a tournament… To be honest with you, you can’t always win against “Rafa”. He is too good, ” said Federer.

Federer converted three of his seven balls break during the meeting to rein in 16 the series of victories of the Spaniard, who has notably won the title last week at the China Open.

Federer, who has won the last five clashes against Nadal, if you go back up to the final of the Basel tournament in 2015, was also defeated in the final of the Australian open, eighth-finals at Indian Wells and final in Miami earlier this season.

“The match was very difficult, agreed on Nadal. He played quickly, and very well. “

“This was not my best match this week. When an opponent plays better than you, you can’t do a lot of things. This is the reality, no ? Quand tu affrontes a player who is better than you in most aspects of the sport on this type of surface, then it becomes very difficult. “

It was the 94th title of Federer’s career, allowing him to join Ivan Lendl in the second rank of modern history in this chapter.

On the other hand, Nadal has refused to indicate whether it planned to participate in the tournaments of Basel, Switzerland, and Paris.