Federer wins Shanghai Masters
Monday, 13 October 2014
SHANGHAI, Oct 12 (AFP): Roger Federer edged a resilient Gilles Simon of France 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/2) to win the Shanghai Masters and claim the 81st title of his career Sunday.
The 17-time Grand Slam winner had blown away world number one Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals but he found a stubborn opponent in Simon at Shanghai's QiZhong Tennis Centre.
And the 33-year-old needed two tie-breaks before dousing Simon to making it back-to-back Masters victories following his win in Cincinnati in August.
The Swiss veteran started poorly against 29th-ranked Simon's confrontational baseline play and he lost his serve in the very first game.
Federer changed tactics midway through the first set, tentatively approaching the net in a bid to regain the initiative.