Shanghai Masters 2015: Roger Federer is the only player capable of beating Novak Djokovic

Roger Federer is set to bid for a 25th career ATP Masters crown as he gears up for the Shanghai Rolex Masters in China. Federer will defend his title against the world’s top tennis players, including 10-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, who is coming off a victory over career rival Rafael Nadal at the China Open.

Federer dropped down to third place in the ATP World Rankings on Monday, but Sky Sports’ Tim Clement still sees the Swiss Maestro as the only threat that could halt Djokovic’s dominance in this season, with a 4/1 shot in a shorter tournament format.

Clement noted that Federer’s drop in the world rankings came too late to impact Saturday’s draw for the Shanghai Masters, thus giving the 17-time Grand Slam winner a chance to face Djokovic in the final round of the tournament. However, Federer’s journey for another Masters title would be no walk in the park, with the top 20 players in ATP Race to London also competing at Qi Zhong Tennis Centre.

Federer, along with Djokovic, received a goodbye into the second round as two of the top seeds in the tournament. The 37-year-old Swiss is joined by some of the elite tennis professionals in his half, which includes Rafael Nadal, new world No. 2 Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Cement argued that being in the same half as Nadal and Nishikori might have previously been a nightmare for Federer. But with neither of two in elite-form, Federer could have an easy match against them. Cement also noted that Wawrinka was the biggest threat to Federer’s final hopes, but the former was completely outperformed by the latter in their most recent outing at the US Open.

“Therefore, Federer will go off as comfortable favourite against anyone in his half, while he'd surely be no longer than 6/4 for a final match up with Djokovic, having prevailed in five out of their last eight clashes in a three-set format,” Cement wrote.

Meanwhile, Federer admitted he always takes a peek at tournament’s draw and the Shanghai Masters is not an exception. Federer said he loves looking at the draw to understand who the opponent is and be aware of possible foes.

“I love looking at the draw, trying to understand who is going to come through,” Federer told the official website of ATP World Tour. “There’s no avoiding where you are in the draw, so I’m aware of who is around me.”

Federer will begin his title defence against Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who defeated USA’s Sam Querrey 6-4 4-6 5-7.

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