Roger Federer has defeated Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-3 to claim the Shanghai Masters title. Also, it is currently 2017.
The 36-year-old Swiss legend claimed his fourth (!) win of the calendar year over the World #1, hammering 19 aces in the process.
More history made.@RogerFederer beats Rafa Nadal for the 5th consecutive time to win 27th Masters 1000 title!#SHRolexMasters pic.twitter.com/kfcFegJXxU
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 15, 2017
Their first on-court meeting at the Miami Masters was 13 years ago. Bloody hell.
The win means Federer has notched an absolutely insane 94 career titles, and to be honest, that number only seems set to climb: imperious performances at Wimbledon and an all-time great Australian Open final win against Nadal are just a couple of the accolades Federer has amassed this year.
Of course, being frenemies for so bloody long brings a certain level of respect. After the match, Federer cited the duo’s injury concerns, saying “we didn’t think maybe we were going to have the year we did.”
“I definitely didn’t, so it’s just nice to share this court with you today and hopefully there’s more to come in the tournaments we’ve got left.”
“It’s been a pleasure to share the court with you again today”@RogerFederer + @RafaelNadal = friendship goals#SHRolexMasters pic.twitter.com/5xUHRMiuga
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 15, 2017
On his rival, Nadal said “I think you played a fantastic match, so many congratulations.”
As it stands, Federer is the only player who can pip Nadal for the men’s World Number One spot by the end of the year. We hope he does. And that Nadal battles to wrest it back in 2018.
11 years on in Shanghai…
Still winning. Still respectful.@rogerfederer @RafaelNadal pic.twitter.com/NEFrCuWJpq
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 15, 2017
