Federer & Nadal Pack 1-2 Punch
Rafael Nadal World No. 1 Roger Federer and World No. 2 Rafael Nadal have opened historic leads over their rivals in the INDESIT ATP 2005 Race after dominating the ATP Masters Series in unprecedented fashion this year. Federer and Nadal have shared all seven ATP Masters Series titles this season, with Federer on Sunday becoming the first player in history (since 1990) to win four Masters shields in the one season when he defeated Andy Roddick in the final of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati. Nadal has won the other three ATP Masters Series titles contested this year including this summer’s Rogers Masters in Montreal on August 14.
Federer leads the INDESIT ATP 2005 Race with 1,010 points, having passed the 1,000-point milestone faster than anyone in Race history (since 2000) on Sunday. Nadal, who one week earlier won the Rogers Masters in Montreal, is in second place with 838 points. In comparison, at the same time last year Federer led the Race with 887 points, followed by Andy Roddick in second place with 597 points.
Today, Federer is 463 points clear of third-placed Roddick; Nadal is 291 points clear of Roddick. Federer (64-3 match record in 2005) and Nadal (65-9) both have won nine titles this season. The players will be seeded No. 1 and No. 2 at next week’s US Open.
Never before have two players shared the first seven ATP Masters Series titles of the year. Federer won back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami (where he beat Nadal in five sets in the final), a third Masters Series Hamburg crown on clay and Cincinnati. During his career, Federer has won five of the nine ATP Masters Series tournaments, second only to Andre Agassi, who has won seven of the nine. Nineteen-year-old Nadal, who had won just one ATP tournament before this year, won back-to-back ATP Masters Series clay court titles in Monte-Carlo and Rome, and Montreal (his first hard court title).
Federer and Nadal are the only confirmed qualifiers for Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, to be played November 13-20 at the new $200 million Qi Zhong stadium in Shanghai, China. Eight players qualify for the circuit-ending finale, co-owned by the ATP, the Grand Slams and the ITF (International Tennis Federation).
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