Say it ain't so! Current world no.3 and all-around pretty decent player Roger Federer has just announced that he won't be participating in the upcoming Shanghai Masters next month. It's the second time Federer's pulled out from competing in Shanghai, after the longtime world no.1 declined his Masters invitation in 2009. Current world no.1 Novak Djokovic is also unlikely to make it to Shanghai, as a recent back injury will require between three to six weeks to heal. It comes as little surprise that two of the top three players in the ATP Tour would miss out on the upcoming tournament in Shanghai, as the Masters follow both the U.S. Open (the year's fourth and last Grand Slam) and Davis Cup matches, two must-play events on the ATP schedule. Players have recently threatened to strike due to the grueling schedule set up by the International Tennis Federation, and will meet in Shanghai during next month's Masters to discuss the situation. more ›

"TENNIS fans now can purchase tickets to this year's Shanghai Rolex Masters, Asia's only ATP Masters 1000 tournament, to be staged October 8-16. Tickets can be obtained in three ways: People can book online, by phone (962123), or by going to one of the three ticket offices in the city - at Jiushi Tower on Zhongshan Road S., at the Super Brand Mall in the Pudong New Area and the Grand Gateway in Xujiahui. Two websites are set up for online booking: www.shanghairolexmasters.com and www.jusstickets.com. Tickets will be delivered to homes if people book online or through the hotline." [Shanghai Daily] more ›

By Geoff Ng and Pete Chorba more ›

History repeated itself again yesterday as top-seeded (and not top-ranked-anymore) Roger Federer lost his first round match at this year's Shanghai Masters Cup, currently going on at the Qizhong Stadium. This year-ending tennis event represents the gathering of the eight "best" players on the ATP Tour of the year for a fierce round-robin competition to earn not only the honor of winning the Masters Cup, but also a nice purse of $625,000. more ›