Federer had underlined his dominance for 3 years by winning countless tournaments and Grand Slams. The last time anyone had dominated so convincingly was during the Pete Sampras era. Only time will time if Federer is able to surpass the records held currently by Sampras.
The Masters Cup yesterday was held for the first time in Shanghai. Previously it was held in either US or Europe. The year-end annual tournament pits the 8 best players in the world against each other. This year's tournament saw a string of withdrawal from key players. World no. 2, the flamboyant Rafael Nadal pulled out 2 weeks before, citing injury. The left-hander Spanish teenager had a successful year, winning the French open. Apart from Nadal, the closest Federer challengers Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin also withdrew. Lastly, sentimental favourite Andre Agassi opted out after losing his first match.
Federer won his 3rd successive Wimbledon and US open in a thrilling season. Just 2 weeks prior to the cup, he was hobbling and unable to walk from an ankle injury. That didn't stop him from winning all his group matches and he went into the final with a 81-3 record and a 6-0 6-0 win(his first double bagel) over Gaston Gaudio in the semis. One would not be mistaken to comment that Nalbandian would have an uphill struggle against Federer. However, he managed to pull out everything he had and managed to subdue Federer's lethal one-handed backhand.
The following season starts in January 2006. Tennis fans are certain that more success will come Federer's way. After all, he had always managed to come up with something special each time people started to write him off. As Andy Roddick once said of Federer's prowess , " I threw the kitchen sink at him but he went to the bathroom and threw the bathtub back at me".
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