Federer claims third Masters Cup title in four years
World number one Roger Federer claimed his third Masters Cup title in four years with an imperious display against the American James Blake in Shanghai.
Having won all five of their previous encounters, Federer crushed Blake 6-0 6-3 6-4 in a masterclass that took only one hour and 37 minutes to complete.
When they last met, in the quarter-final of this year’s US Open, Blake managed to take a set off the Swiss star for the first time.
But in that match, the American also lost a set to love, and he did so again in Shanghai.
Starting the final with an ace, as he did in his semi-final win against Spain’s Rafael Nadal, Federer’s serve was as potent as ever.
He also broke Blake three times in the first set, putting him on the back foot with a succession of sublime groundstrokes.
And when Federer was threatened on his own serve in the fifth game, he saved all five break points he faced with some incredible defence.
Facing more break points in the second game of the second set, Blake was given a huge roar of support from the 15,000-capacity crowd in the Qi Zhong stadium and managed to hold.
He then created four more chances to break Federer in the next game, but the former champion again hit terrific shots to save them, including one of a number of brilliant backhands up the line that were a special feature of his performance.
Having held, Federer then broke to lead 3-1 and held from there with ease to take a two-set lead, Blake shaking his head in disbelief.
Two more breaks put Federer on the brink of his 12th title of the season and although Blake broke back defiantly for 3-5 and then held to make things a little more respectable, Federer made no more mistakes, wrapping up the last game to love.
In doing so, Federer finished his best season yet with a 92-5 win-loss record, became the first man to win three year-end championships since Pete Sampras in 1999 and the first to surpass 8million prize money in a single season.
He reached 16 finals in the 17 tournaments he played and will start 2007 after a well-deserved break on a 29-match winning streak.
As for Blake, the finish to his season may have been a crushing lesson but he can still take great pride in having reached the final in Shanghai on his debut, a run which ultimately saw him end 2006 as the leading American with a career-high ranking of number four.
