Gonzalez stuns Federer; Roddick wins Shanghai opener
Fernando Gonzalez came from behind to stun top-seeded/world No. 1 Roger Federer 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5.
Shanghai, China - In a rematch of this year’s Australian Open final, Chilean slugger Fernando Gonzalez exacted some revenge on Roger Federer by stunning the super Swiss in Monday’s round-robin action at the $3.7 million Tennis Masters Cup. American star Andy Roddick posted a milder upset here on Day 2.
The seventh-seeded Gonzalez came from behind to stun the top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 on the indoor hardcourt at Shanghai’s state-of- the-art Qi Zhong Stadium. Federer led 5-4 in the third set before Gonzalez mounted a surprising late comeback.
Both Federer and Gonzalez could manage only one service break in the match, but “Gonzo” got his huge one to take a 6-5 lead in the final stanza. The Chilean then held his capable serve to close out the bout after 2 hours, 8 minutes of fierce tennis.
Gonzalez squandered a match point with a double fault while leading 40-love in the final game of the match, but he converted on his next one when Federer sent one final forehand wide to end the hard-hitting battle.
The 12-time major champion Federer, who will finish the year at No. 1 for a fourth straight year, had been a laughable 10-0 lifetime against Gonzalez, including a straight-set victory in the Aussie Open finale back in January.
Gonzalez is 1-0 in this week’s four-player Red Group, while Federer is 0-1. Federer won all five of his matches en route to a title here in Shanghai a year ago. The reigning U.S. Open, Wimbledon, Aussie Open and Masters Cup titlist and French Open runner-up Federer hadn’t lost in this event since Argentine David Nalbandian shocked him in the final here in Shanghai two years ago.
The 26-year-old Federer has now lost consecutive matches for the first time in 4 1/2 years, as his last outing resulted in a setback at the hands of Nalbandian in Paris two weeks ago.
Federer, who fell to 22-3 at this prestigious tournament, is seeking his fourth Masters Cup title in five years. He had been a perfect 15-0 in round- robin play in this tournament since his debut back in 2002.
A fifth-seeded Roddick snuck past fourth-seeded Russian star Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. The massive-serving American is now 1-0 in the Red Group, while Davydenko is 0-1.
The former world No. 1 and former U.S. Open champ Roddick prevailed in 2 hours, 11 minutes with the help of nine aces. He also recorded twice as many breaks (4-2) as Davydenko, who is now 0-5 all-time against the American.
Roddick’s top serve speed was a whopping 140 miles per hour on Day 2.
The other four-player group at this exclusive eight-player tournament, the Gold Group, features second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal (1-0), third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic (0-1), sixth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer (1-0) and eighth-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet (0-1).
On Tuesday here, the French Open champion and Wimbledon runner-up Nadal will encounter Ferrer in an all-Spanish affair and the U.S. Open runner-up Djokovic will take on Gasquet.
The Masters Cup features round-robin action for the first six days, with the top-two players from each group advancing to the semifinals on Saturday. The lucrative finale will be staged here on Sunday.
An undefeated champion in Shanghai would collect over $1.5 million.
Federer defeated American James Blake in last year’s Masters Cup finale and is the only former champion, or finalist for that matter, in this year’s field.
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