Return Winners: A look back at Shanghai 2014

Since Shanghai is the biggest thing happening right now, the first Return Winners is the 2014 final.

The Result: Roger Federer def. Gilles Simon, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (2)

The Setting: Federer breezed through his previous three matches going into the title round, including a straight-set win over Novak Djokovic in the semis. But his tournament almost ended as soon as it began as he went to a third-set tiebreak against Leonardo Mayer in the round of 32. Not exactly an indicator of championship form.

Even though Simon had made the semifinals in Japan the week before Shanghai, tapping him for a final at a Masters event would’ve been an unusual call. That last-four Tokyo run was only his second semifinal of the year. He was able to tap into some of his former Top 10 magic and upset Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych on his way to the final.

The Final: Going in, Federer led Simon 4-2 in their career head-to-head. The Frenchman had actually pushed Federer to five sets at Roland Garros in 2013. To set the tone, Simon broke the No. 3 seed’s serve right off the bat. But when it came time to serve out the first set, Simon faltered and Federer got the break back, eventually taking the set in a tiebreak. The second set was just as tight and ended the same way as the first in Federer’s favor, giving him his fifth title of the year.

23

It was Federer's 23rd Masters 1000 title

2

Simon was playing in just his second career Masters ATP 1000 final.

Each week, we’ll take a look back at a past final played at one of the current week’s tournaments.