Ferrer advances amid dramatic upsets

SHANGHAI: Shanghai continued to produce big tennis upsets yesterday after another pair of top seeds, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, were stunned at the Shanghai Masters Cup at Qi Zhong Tennis Center.

World No 2 Nadal was overcome by his Spanish compatriot David Ferrer 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in a grueling Gold Group match, while No 3 Djokovic was upset by French young gun Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2 in another group match.

Now all four of the world's top players have been dealt losses - Swiss world No 1 Roger Federer lost to Chilean Fernando Gonzalez and Russian Nikolay Davydenko, the world No 4, was beaten by Andy Roddick on Monday.

Ferrer, a US Open semifinalist, surprisingly earned the first berth into the Masters semifinals with his second victory of the tournament. He beat Djokovic in straight sets on Sunday.

On the other side of the ladder, popular Serb star Djokovic ended up being the first player to bid farewell to the year-end tournament after he suffered his second loss of the tournament at the hands of Gasquet.

In a two-hour-and-forty-minute marathon, Nadal faced his close friend Ferrer.

There were no secrets between the Spaniards, who both showed a tough mindset and a long-rally ability. They seesawed in the first set, but Nadal broke one more time than Ferrer to close the first set at 6-4.

It was an opposite story in the second set as Ferrer broke Nadal twice in the eighth and 10th game but Nadal only managed one in the ninth to level his opponent at 1-1.

A mid break in the fourth game of the decider left Ferrer on the upper hand at 3-1. Nadal tried every trick to get close, but the French Open champion was unable to stop the dynamic Ferrer from claiming victory.

"I am very confident and I don't have a lot of pressure," said Ferrer who is playing in his first Masters Cup. "I tried my best and really well."

Finishing his best season this year with three titles and a personal best No 6 ranking, Ferrer still thinks Nadal is a better player.

"It is just one match and Rafael is better than me."

There was little for Nadal to complain about in losing to his more motivated rival, probably the best returner on the tour.

"He played unbelievable and moved unbelievable. It's a crazy game," Nadal said.

"I played well but he played better," he said. "It's disappointing for me and it was a very close match," Nadal said.

Nadal warned that those top seeds, himself included, were still not out despite suffering painful losses over the first two days.

"We have these rankings as a result of the whole year. In one match playing against the world's best players, anything can happen."

Djokovic out

But Djokovic won't have any sort of comeback opportunity.

The young and inexperienced Serb admitted he fell victim to an over-stretched schedule with overbearing expectations that left him in tatters by the end of the season.

"It all came up in the end unfortunately in the negative way for me because I have played a lot this year," he said. "I didn't get the right preparation at the right time.

"We are trying to appear and attend all the tournaments and try to go far. But sometimes it's not possible and sometimes you have to push yourself over the limits."

Djokovic was the hardest-working player on the tour, playing an arduous 84 matches before going to Shanghai, the most among the eight.

The little-rested Serb said it was not a smart schedule, was too demanding and needs to be improved next season.

"It was not planned so well, you know, I have a lot of exhausting events," he said.

"It has a bad impact on my game here, the fact that I played a hundred matches, I think, altogether."

(China Daily 11/14/2007 page24)