Masters Cup practice gallery

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was keen to test the court at Shanghai, after a fresh victory in Paris.

   Andy Murray was on court, and gave a bit of advice to Roger Federer.

Mirka was on hand to give Federer some advice during his practice session.

Roger Federer took his time testing the court during his practice session with other top players. 

The groups are set!

The elite eight have been placed into their groups today, by a draw ceremony in Shanghai. The Red Group will include Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and Gilles Simon. And the Gold Group will include Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Martin Del Potro. One of the most talked about matches from these groups is the Federer vs Murray match-up, since Federer has won to Murray at the US Open final but Murray has won to Federer recently at the Madrid Masters semifinals. 

More news coming before the start of competition!

Breaking News: Nadal out of Masters Cup

With at least a week before the Masters Cup, Rafael Nadal has pulled out from the event due to fatigue. And five days after the end of the Masters Cup, Nadal has to play for his home country against Argentina in the Davis Cup final. Nadal has stated numerous times that this year's schedule has been very difficult for top level players to be 100% week in and week out. But Nadal has reached alot of goals that he wanted, such as getting the number one ranking and winning both Wimbledon and Roland Garros. Nadal will be replaced by Gilles Simon. Hope to see Nadal in action soon!

Tsonga captures Paris title as well as a spot at the Masters Cup

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga elevated himself to a new level by winning his first Masters title and his second career title in Paris, defeating David Nalbandian with a score of 63 46 64. During the match, Tsonga smacked 25 aces, and hit only 1 double fault. As a bonus, Tsonga has secured the last place at the year-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai, rounding up the elite eight for this year.

Coverage of the Masters Cup will be posted from November 9, so stay tuned to this blog for all the exciting news!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Singles - Final
[13] J Tsonga (FRA) d [8] D Nalbandian (ARG) 63 46 64

Doubles - Final
[5] J Bjorkman (SWE) / K Ullyett (ZIM) d [6] J Coetzee (RSA) / W Moodie (RSA) 62 62

Nalbandian and Tsonga into final

David Nalbandian earned his spot in the final with a 61 57 64 win to No. 6 in the world Nikolay Davydenko. With this this win, not only does Nalbandian get a spot in the final, he also still gets a chance to be in the year-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also had a win over James Blake, to end his hopes of getting to his second consecutive Masters Cup. The score was 64 63, and he will now face Nalbandian for the title and for the last place in the Masters Cup. The winner takes it all!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Singles - Semifinals
[8] D Nalbandian (ARG) d [6] N Davydenko (RUS) 61 57 64
[13] J Tsonga (FRA) d [11] J Blake (USA) 64 63 

Doubles - Semifinals
[6] J Coetzee (RSA) / W Moodie (RSA) d M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) 64 63 
[5] J Bjorkman (SWE) / K Ullyett (ZIM) vs A Clement (FRA) / M Llodra (FRA)