Roger Federer capped another incredible season with a fourth Tennis Masters Cup title in five years after pounding David Ferrer 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in the Shanghai final. ADHEREL
The win was Federer’s 53rd of his career, 8th of the season including three Grand Slams. His four Masters Cup titles places him with Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl and Ilie Nastase as the only players with four or more year-end championships.
“It’s been a great season for me,” Federer said the 1-hour, 38-minute destruction. “And finishing off the best players in the world in the Masters Cup, it’s always a great experience for me. I think it only really is going to start coming down on me like next week, and then especially during holidays.”
By winning the title Federer became the first player in tennis history to win more than $10 million in a season. The Swiss entered the event with $7.4 million in 2007 earnings and added $1.2 million for winning the title with a 4-1 record. Federer also pocketed $1.5 million from the $3 million ATP Bonus Pool, taking his season total to $10,130,620.
Federer had drawn some criticism for an opening round-robin loss to Fernando Gonzalez, but proceeded to obliterate the field following the setback, posting routine straight-set wins over Nikolay Davydenko, Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal and then Ferrer today en route to the title.
“It’s been in some ways a breakthrough year for me,” added Fed. “Especially the way I played in the beginning of the year, not losing a set during the Australian Open, coming here, beating everybody in straight sets after losing against Gonzalez when people thought, okay, Federer is maybe not playing so well. Beating Nadal for the first time on clay. I’ve beaten all my closest rivals, Nadal and Djokovic, more times than they’ve beaten me. It’s been one of those years which I’m really, really happy about.”
In the match Federer built on his net rushing tactics, using his slice backhand to attack winning 20 of 27 approaches against the Spaniard. Federer, broke Ferrer is six of nine tries, and finished with 30 winners with 29 unforced, while Ferrer had 10 winners and 38 unforced and never broke Roger.
Ferrer was the surprise of the tournament, tearing through the round-robin undefeated and barely tested, but the Spaniard had never beaten Federer in seven prior attempts, and was overmatched in the end.
“I’m happy for the week because I am playing a very, very good level, and my first final in the Masters Shanghai,” said Ferrer, who was trying to become the first player to win a Masters Cup title in his debut since fellow Spaniard Alex Corretja in 1998. “My family, they are here. Very happy for that, no? But now maybe I was a little bit angry because the final I lost. But very happy. Very happy for this week.”
For his effort, Ferrer will finish a career-best No. 5 in the final ATP rankings. Federer finished No. 1 for a fourth consecutive year.
Next week Federer will battle Sampras in a series of exhibitions in Asia.
In the doubles final, in their final match as a team Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor clinched one of the biggest titles to have previously eluded them when they defeated US Open champions Simon Aspelin and Julian Knowle 6-2, 6-3.
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