Results tagged “rafaelnadal”

By Geoff Ng and Pete Chorba

There must be something strange in the air (literally), because this year's Tennis Masters Cup has been quite a doozy. And after last night's action (Day 3), it's officially a doozy. Richard Gasquet of France, the last man to qualify for the tournament, upset number three in the world and crowd favorite, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, in convincing fashion, 6-4, 6-2. It was Djokovic's second loss in the tournament, after falling to Spaniard David Ferrer...

... why not get a terracotta one instead? That statue on the right, ladies and gentlemen, is Roger Federer.

After their appearance in the final of The Championships, Wimbledon, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have both qualified for the year-ending Masters Cup, held annually in Minhang, Shanghai.

The race for the eight spots in this year’s Tennis Masters Cup -- to be held in Shanghai for the third time (November 12-19) -- is hotting up, with newer stars like Marcos Baghdatis and James Blake vying to join old hands Federer, Roddick and Nadal in the prestigious end-of-year tournament.

Have you ever heard of Henrik Stenson? He's a very good golfer, but not exactly a household name (unless, of course, you are from Sweden). He is, however, the highest ranked golfer participating in this week's BMW Asian Open in Shanghai. Ernie Els, Luke Donald and David Howell all pulled out of the tournament, citing one ailment or another. It's leading some to wonder: Are the world's top athletes allergic to Shanghai? You may remember the mass exodus of top names at the ATP Tennis Masters Cup last fall. And more recently, many of the big guns did not make the trip to the World Short Course Swimming Championships. The South China Morning Post has taken to calling this the "Shanghai Sickness" -- we always thought that was food poisoning. Anyway, here's a list of athletes that don't seem to be current on their Shanghai shots:

In a stunning blow to the competition in this year's ATP Tennis Master's Cup in Shanghai, Rafael Nadal (left foot) and Andre Agassi (ankle) have withdrawn from play.

The field is finally set for the Tennis Masters Cup, which comes to Shanghai's brand-spankin'-new Qi Zhong Stadium (pictured) November 13-20. Competing in "the final showdown" are some of the biggest names in men's tennis. (Also competing are guys named Ivan Ljubicic, Guillermo Coria and Nikolay Davydenko.) Players headed to Shanghai you may have heard of are Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi.