Federer falls to Monfils in Shanghai Masters
- By Zhang Rui
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E-mail China.org.cn, October 11, 2013
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Roger Federer was ousted by Gael Monfils in the third round of Shanghai Masters. |
French tennis player Gael Monfils beat the world's former No. 1 Roger Federer at the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Thursday, while Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal won their respective matches.
Federer's defeat by Monfils was not the sole bad news for him; he also lost his doubles match later that day.
The fifth-seeded Swiss player faced a surprise 4-6, 7-6 (5), 3-6 third-round loss to Gael Monfils of France.
The 32-year-old returned to the court later that day for his second-round doubles match which saw Federer and his partner Zhang Ze of China battle it out with fifth seeds Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Marcelo Melo of Brazil. Federer and Zhang lost by 1-6, 6-1, 8-10.
"When you walk onto the court, you just stick to your plan and just, okay, I'm going to challenge him," said Monfils of his strategy against Federer. "Then if you see a way, you take it."
"I tried to play more aggressive at certain times, go for my shots more often and it worked. So I took advantage of that," he added, "But when he's on the court, he's still Roger. He can rip it from anywhere. He can do stuff that not many players can do."
The icon's loss disappointed Federer's adoring fans who still see him as a superstar athlete. In regards to the Shanghai Rolex Masters, Federer said before leaving Shanghai, "I think this tournament will be fine with or without me. It's going to be super-established in 10 years, I'd say. It already is now. We hope that fans will understand the game of tennis even more so that they enjoy it even more."
Regarding his brief partnership with Zhang, the Swiss player said, "It should give Chinese tennis a lift, in my opinion, hopefully make the generation of Zhang Ze and the younger players, and maybe the older ones for that matter, believe they can play with the best."
Zhang was also upbeat and stated, "To be able to partner up with Roger is already a harvest in itself. I've learned a lot about how to deal with situations on court."
Djokovic picked up a routine 6-3, 6-3 win over Fabio Fognini of Italy. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal also secured a spot in the semifinals after a 6-1, 7-6 (5) victory over Carlos Berlocq of Argentina.
Third seed David Ferrer and fourth seed Tomas Berdych were shown the door. Ferrer fell by 4-6, 3-6 to German Florian Mayer, whereas Nicolas Almagro of Spain surprised fourth-seeded Berdych 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-6 (4).
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