Shanghai Wrap-Up and Week 42 Preview

I have to admit, that was something of a surprising result. The final in Shanghai featured Andy Murray and Roger Federer, both of whom were in spectacular form coming in to the final. The pair had played some very close matches, so it was reasonable to expect another tight affair. Surprisingly, the match was something of a blowout. Even more surprising, the winner was Andy Murray - the other times their matches ended with lopsided results, it was a straightforward victory for Federer.

But this time, Murray was on the top of his game while Federer was a little bit off. He may have been a bit unlucky in the beginning of the second set, when a bad call may have cost him a point that he was forced to replay. But he wasn't unlucky on his second try, when he sailed a forehand wide under no particular pressure. Murray played some great tennis - no question about that, but Federer made too many errors on the big points.

Looking ahead to next week, there are a pair of tournaments to look at - one in Moscow and one in Stockholm. It's an odd week for tennis, because five of the world's top ten players are in action, but the 8th seed in both tournaments is ranked outside the top 35. So while there are some players to watch, the majority of the players in action are not at the top of the game just now.

That isn't to say that there aren't good matches in the early going - in Moscow, wildcard Dmitry Tursunov takes on Viktor Troicki, which should be an exciting match for the home crowd. And in Stockholm, James Blake (also in on a wildcard) faces the 7th seed Thomaz Bellucci. Those are big matches for both of these players, who are trying to make comebacks after injury layoffs. Neither one is going to be easy.

It will be interesting to see how these draws shake out - Federer really ought to win in Stockholm, and will have almost no excuse if he can't make it through the draw. The second seed is Robin Soderling, who got brutally thrashed by Federer just this last week, winning only a pair of games. On the other hand, the top seed in Moscow is on a terrible run of form. If he can put together a good week, it will really be a turnaround. He has a good chance, without too many tough opponents waiting in his way. The later stages of the tournament could get tricky, though.