Roger Federer outclassed old rival Rafa Nadal 6-4 6-3 in the final of the Shanghai Masters on Sunday. The Swiss recorded his fourth victory of the year over Nadal to claim his 94th career title moving him into a tie with Ivan Lendl in second place on the Open era list.
Federer beat the Spaniard in the finals of the Australian Open, Miami Masters and in the last 16 at Indian Wells, and never looked likely of losing to his long-time foe, firing 10 aces as he cruised to victory. The 19-time grand slam winner, who still trails Nadal 23-15 in their overall head-to-head record, didn’t face a break point and started and ended the match with service breaks.
The Swiss took advantage of three of seven break point opportunities in the match to snap Nadal’s 16-game winning streak, which included his China Open victory last week.
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The number two seed trails Nadal by 1,940 points in the race for the number 1 spot but could close the gap with victories in Basel and Paris or it could come down to the World Tour finals in November.
