ATP News : 2005


Nadal seeks Successful Masters Cup Debut

All eyes will be on Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal as the singles and doubles Gold Groups take Center Court for the first time at Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai on Monday.


Agassi returns to competition for the first time since losing to Roger Federer in the US Open final on September 11. He starts his 2005 Tennis Masters Cup campaign with a match against Tennis Masters Cup debutant Nikolay Davydenko.

Agassi won a year-end event 15 years ago at the 1990 ATP Tour World Championship, but has yet to win the Tennis Masters Cup, although he was runner-up in 2000 and 2003.

Rafael Nadal, at 19 years, five months the first teenager to qualify for Tennis Masters Cup since Lleyton Hewitt in 2000, plays his debut TMC match against Gaston Gaudio.

Roger Federer was forced into a rare fightback Sunday to save his near-perfect record at the Tennis Masters Cup, overcoming Argentine David Nalbandian, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to open his title defense in the Red Group.

The Shanghai match was the first in six weeks for Switzerland's Federer, who has already clinched the world No. 1 year-end ranking for the second year in succession. He last competed in Bangkok, winning his 11th title of the season on October

The sensation of the late-season, Ivan Ljubicic, joined Roger Federer in sending a second Argentine to defeat with his 6-2, 6-3 decision over Guillermo Coria.

Ljubicic, winner of indoor titles over the past month in Metz and Vienna as well as a finalist in both the Masters Series Madrid (lost to Rafael Nadal) and last week's Masters Series Paris (lost to Tomas Berdych), earned in place in Shanghai thanks to his autumn efforts.



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