Federer & Nadal First to Qualify
The world’s leading singles players and Wimbledon finalists, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and the top two doubles pairings of Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi and Bob and Mike Bryan, all have secured their places in the prestigious circuit finale, the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, to be held for the second year at Qi Zhong Stadium from November 12-19.
Federer mathematically qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup after his quarterfinal victory at Roland Garros last month, making it the earliest official qualification in the history of the tournament. The 24-year-old has had another spectacular season, compiling a 55-4 record heading into the Wimbledon final and reaching the final in each of his nine tournament appearances.
Federer opened the season by successfully defending his Doha title, and quickly established himself as the leader of the INDESIT ATP 2006 Race by capturing the Australian Open crown, successive ATP Masters Series shields in Indian Wells and Miami, and the grass court title in Halle.
"I am looking forward to playing in Shanghai for the third time,” Federer said. “I reached the semifinals the first year and the final last year so I hope to go one step further this time. I love playing in China and the stadium is great."
ATP World No. 2 Nadal, who has won 33 of his last 34 matches this year, guaranteed his Shanghai place courtesy of his first ever Wimbledon semifinal appearance. The left-handed Spaniard enjoyed a stellar clay court season and made history by securing the longest winning streak on clay, currently at a record 60 matches following his successful title defense at Roland Garros. The victory also marked Nadal’s 14th consecutive final won; thus far this season, he has claimed five titles, prevailing over Federer in four of the finals (Dubai, Masters Series Monte-Carlo, Internazionali d’Italia and Roland Garros).
"I came to Shanghai last year and was really excited about playing, but unfortunately I was injured and couldn’t play,” said Nadal. “I have always said that my goal was to qualify for the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai and I am very happy now that I’ve done it. Hopefully there will be no problems this year and I’m really looking forward to coming and playing in front of all my fans in November.”
Following the Wimbledon semifinals, Federer has accumulated a massive 957 points to lead the INDESIT ATP 2006 Race with Nadal holding second position in the race with 735 points, 368 points ahead of his nearest rival, Ivan Ljubicic.
“It’s great to have Roger back again,” said Tennis Masters Cup Tournament Director Brad Drewett. “Roger has been voted the most popular tennis player in China and I know his many Chinese fans are eager to see him reclaim his crown after last year’s spectacular final against David Nalbandian. It is also exciting to have Rafael qualify again as the fans are looking forward to seeing him play his unique energetic game.”
The battle for the top spot in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race is again heating up, with Australian Open champions Bob and Mike Bryan and Roland Garros champions Bjorkman and Mirnyi jostling for the honor of the best doubles team of 2006. Last year’s battle between the two teams came down to Shanghai, where the Bryan brothers turned in a semifinal run to claim the year-end No. 1 team distinction over Bjorkman and Mirnyi.
The Bryans enjoyed a strong start to the 2006 season and led the Stanford ATP Doubles Race for the first six months of the year before the Swede and Belarusian grabbed the Race lead courtesy of their second consecutive Roland Garros triumph over the American twins. Following Wimbledon, the Bryans once again will assume their place atop the leader board, having advanced farther in the draw than Bjorkman and Mirnyi.
"The ultimate goal for the year is to make it to that [Shanghai] stage,” said Miryni. “It's so exciting to know that we have already done that." Added Mike Bryan: "We're really looking forward to getting back to Shanghai. It was a great experience last year. It should be a great tournament, and the way this season is going, the No. 1 team may not be decided until the last match."
Said Drewett: “The Chinese tennis fans really enjoyed the Masters Cup doubles matches in 2005. The Bryan brothers and Jonas and Max are very popular in Shanghai and we are looking forward to having them return.”
The top seven players in the INDESIT ATP 2006 Race and the top seven teams in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race following the BNP Paribas Masters qualify for the circuit finale, with one spot reserved for Grand Slam champions finishing within the Top 20.
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