Shanghai Notes: Federer Fawning, Mad Murray, and More

The Shanghai Masters is in the quarterfinal stage now, and two of what seems to be an increasingly shaky Big Four, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal, are out of the running. Meanwhile, the other two, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, are penciled in as semifinal opponents.

The upshot? A player in the bottom half of the draw—which has cumulatively accounted for exactly one of the coveted Masters titles—will get a chance to win one. That one champion was Tomas Berdych, who won the Paris Indoors way back in 2005.

On paper, Berdych is the clear choice to punch through. But first he’ll have to dispatch one of the many players who appears to be in the midst of a resurgence. But let’s get right into the notebook before we consider the case of Gilles Simon:

Gushing Without Blushing

Yesterday, Roger Federer had to survive five match points to subdue Lenardo Mayer. Today he waxed Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-4, 6-2. Among other things, Federer won an outstanding 22 of 24 net approaches, and he won 86 percent of the first serves he put into play (on a fine 70 percent first-serve conversion rate). Still, the way some commentators gush over Federer I sometimes think they ought to rename Tennis Channel the Roger Channel.

Look, I’ll be the first to admit that it’s pretty difficult to over-praise the 17-time Grand Slam champion. On the other hand, he simply isn’t the doomsday stroking machine he once was on a day-in, day-out basis, even if on a given day he appears to be. Besides, what does it bring to our understanding or appreciation of Federer to just issue exclamations like, “Oh, that’s brilliant! He can do anything he wants with that backhand!”

Of course, when Federer shanks a backhand soon thereafter there is nothing but silence, or some comment on how Federer’s timing was a bit off, or how tricky the lighting is in that particular arena. My irritation with the fawning was particularly acute during the Mayer match, which Federer was lucky to survive. He hit some ugly shots and squandered a good chance at a match-ending break in the third set. As well, Mayer played some terrific tennis, for which what admiration he garnered seemed almost grudging.

Part of my problem, I guess, is that Shanghai is already jam-packed with Federer fans, and the chant of “Roger, Roger. . .” resounds throughout the arena with impressive frequency. The stands are awash in Swiss red and white. Does the commentary booth have to be as well?

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

As late as the noon hour today, the WTA Tour website was loaded up with promotional materials for everything from a video piece on the Billie Jean King Trophy that will be awarded to the winner at the WTA Finals, to a solicitation of votes for the “shot of the month,” to photos from the Tianjin player party.

Doesn’t the tour realize that there are three tournaments underway (in Linz, Austria; Osaka, Japan, and Tianjin, China)? I know the ATP tends to steal the thunder this week with its Shanghai Masters, and that Eugenie Bouchard and Ana Ivanovic are the only two Top 8 players in action this week. But if you want to close down shop and focus on Singapore, shot of the month contests, paens to Serena Williams (who isn’t playing until the WTA Finals—if then) and plug the new WTA Elite Trophy event in Zhuhai, China (a replacement in 2015 for the Tournament of Champions, better described as the Tournament of Also-Rans), why not just turn off the lights, pull the door closed, and call it a year?

The Running Man

Gilles Simon has been very quietly re-inserting himself in the conversation about dangerous floaters in any draw. Ranked outside the Top 30 at the start of the Cincinnati tournament, Simon has put up some impressive wins lately. At the U.S. Open, he knocked off No. 5 seed and kindred spirit David Ferrer, and in Shanghai he took out No. 4 seed Stan Wawrinka in a long, demanding three-setter.

Simon, famous for the “chicken legs” that once powered him to the No. 6 position in the rankings, is 29 years old now. At this stage, the biggest challenge for a retriever like Simon is maintaining the concentration and determination required to slug and slog through the long rallies he's famous for, that are so useful for grinding down and frustrating opponents.

Simon doesn’t exactly look like he’s running scared, but you know he’s aware that the shelf life of a player of his inclinations is limited.

The Gaston Gaudio Rule

Just when it looked like Ferrer could be cited as a cautionary tale for Simon (see above), the valiant one from Valencia has struck a resounding blow, knocking Andy Murray out of Shanghai. Although Ferrer was seeded fifth, a look at their respective Grand Slam and Masters 1000 records will certify this as genuine upset.

As a result, Murray, currently ninth in the “Race to London” remains on the cusp of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals. But even if he sneaks in under the wire as one of the eight qualifiers, he could be knocked out of contention by either Stan Wawrinka or Marin Cilic, neither of whom has secured qualification, but either of whom is guaranteed a place by virtue of having won a Grand Slam title.

According to ATP rules, a Grand Slam champion can qualify for the World Tour Finals if he’s in the Top 20 at the end of the year, which both Wawrinka and Cilic will most assuredly be. I think Murray was right, instead of merely self-interested, when he pointed out yesterday that the rule over-inflates the importance of the Grand Slams. Sure they’re more important than even Masters 1000 events, but if you’re going to have a “tour” championship for the top annual performers, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to give Grand Slam winners special exemptions.

As Murray said, “[I]f you want to protect your own tour, then you need to make sure that the tournaments that we are playing throughout the whole year are seen as being just as important as the other ones."

One other note on this: Guaranteeing a place in the World Tour Finals to anyone, for any reason, is tantamount to telling him that as the end of the year approaches he’s got that much less to play for.

Roger’s Other Spanish Rival

Feliciano Lopez is, wittingly or not, engaged in a curious game of one-upmanship with Roger Federer, even though the Spaniard has never come anywhere near a Grand Slam singles trophy while the Swiss has 17 of them. But the fact of the matter is that both men are 33 and playing terrific tennis despite pursuing a style of play in which attacking the net plays an outsized role.

Lopez, just six ticks below his career-best ranking at No. 21, has had a wonderful summer and fall. He successfully defended the title he won at Eastbourne in 2013 and was also a finalist at Queen’s Club. At Wimbledon, he upset John Isner before losing to Wawrinka. On hard courts in Canada, he bested Berdych and Milos Raonic in back-to-back matches before losing in the semifinals to Federer.

Tomorrow, Lopez gets a beatable opponent in Mikhail Youzhny, with the winner to meet either Berdych or Simon in the semis. So how’s this for a scenario? Federer upsets Djokovic in the other semifinal and meets Lopez for the title, with serve-and-volley tennis immediately proclaimed alive and well in 2014.

Somewhere, Rod Laver is smiling.