Federer on Chinese time

Roger Federer retakes the lead of the WAT ranking, and with style! The Swiss made quite a performance this week in Shanghai while Novak Djokovic went blank. Behind, Gilles Simon and Fabio Fognini are making noteworthy entrances, with more or less class.

1/ Roger Federer (+12).

Roger Federer comes back in the best way possible. Side-lined in the past week, the Swiss won the Shanghai Rolex Master by defeating Gilles Simon in final (7-6, 7-6). And to think that he was nearly eliminated in the first round by Leonardo Mayer, who had five match balls. The Argentine probably had nightmares after that last at 5-4 and 40-15 in the third set.

Despite his victory, Federer felt very small when he met the giant basketball player Yao Ming.

2/ Novak Djokovic (-1).

Novak Djokovic also had the honour to meet Yao Ming.

However, the Serb hasn't confirmed his victory in Beijing as he lost in semi-final against... Federer (6-4, 6-4). But he Djoker hasn’t lost everything since he also posed with several legends of the great AC Milan who were all in Asia with the Legends team, including Maldini, Baresi and Shevchenko.

3/ Gilles Simon (NE).

Gilles Simon makes a sensational entrance in the Top 15. It must be said that the French man had a remarkable week, only losing in final against Federer. Earlier, he defeated Stan Wawrinka (5-7, 7-5, 6-4). With only a month to go before the final of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas against Switzerland, Gilou is scoring points.

4/ Maria Sharapova (-1).

No tournament for Maria Sharapova this week, but a lot of practice and sweat.

The Russian took advantage of the breaks between each session to indulge in her other passion, photography.

5/ Rafael Nadal (/).

Rafa has a lot of trouble with his body. This week it's an inflammation of the appendix that weakened the Spaniard, eliminated in the Shanghai Masters from his opening match against his compatriot Feliciano Lopez (6-3, 7-6). It’s the first time since 2003 that Nadal lose three times in a year against a Spanish player. Despite a difficult late season, Rafa didn't lose his sense of humour. For a candid camera, the Majorcan tricked golfers of his Balearic Island by pretending that he had lost his memory after being hit by a bullet.

We finally know what he will do after retiring.

6/ Julien Benneteau (NE).

Fantastic week for Julien Benneteau in Shanghai. The French started by reaching the quarterfinals in singles, defeated by the eventual winner Federer (7-6, 6-0). He then went to the finals of the doubles with his friend Edouard Roger-Vasselin. If they couldn't do anything against the Bryan brothers (6-3, 7-6), thanks to this beautiful journey, the French duo secured its place for the ATP Finals in London.

7/ Petra Kvitova (-3).

Petra Kvitova took advantage of this week off to heal a painful tendon. Don't worry, she will be ready for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals in Singapore.

Before heading to Asia, the Czech even made a detour to watch the hockey game of her boyfriend Radek Meidl.

8/ Fabio Fognini (NE).

He's hard work. Fabio Fognini has been acting up again. This week, the Italian has lost his temper after being defeated in the first round by the Chinese Wang Chuhan, only 553rd player in the world (7-6, 6-4). He first pushed the shoulder of his tormentor before giving the finger to the Chinese public.

Result: a 2000 dollars penalty.

9/ Eugenie Bouchard (+1).

After injuring her left leg, Eugenie Bouchard had to withdraw before the second round of the tournament in Linz where she was the favourite. Not enough to make the Canadian lose her smile, her who has fans from all over the world!

Bouchard took advantage of her free time to go to the movies and watch Gone Girl. Obviously, this film had quite an impact on her.

10/ Alizé Cornet (NE).

Alizé Cornet makes a comeback in the We Are Tennis rankings. Not for her performance on the courts, the French didn't play this week, but for this challenge to a Eurosport journalist that made the buzz on Twitter.

Winning return.

11/ Milos Raonic (-4).

The journey of Milos Raonic in Shanghai ended in the second round. The Canadian was forced to withdraw against the Argentine Juan Monaco (5-2, ab) due to a high fever. A forfeit, which contrasts to the tweet, he posted on the previous day: « Most people have the will to win, few have the will to prepare to win.»

The Canadian logically loses four places.

12/ Grigor Dimitrov (NE).

Bad week for Grigor Dimitrov. Defeated in the second round in Shanghai by Julien Benneteau (7-5, 6-3), the Bulgarian saw his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals get away. Worse, upon leaving the court, he received a punch in the face by a fan that was a little too excited to meet him.

As a consolation prize, the MAG decided to grant him a place in its ranking.

13/ Caroline Wozniacki (-1).

Week of preparation for Caroline Wozniacki. Already focused on the BNP Paribas WTA Finals in Singapore, the Dane had some problems before flying.

Before all this, Wozniacki went to support her brother during a match of Danish second division football.

14/ Stanislas Wawrinka (NE).

Defeated from the second round in Shanghai by Gilles Simon (5-7, 7-5, 6-4), Stan Wawrinka decided to philosophize. The Swiss posted a pretty clear picture on Twitter.

15/ Victoria Azarenka (NE).

The local basket club of Paris-Levallois has found a prestigious supporter in Victoria Azarenka. The Belarusian, who stopped her season on the 21st of September, was in any case present at the arena of Levallois-Perret near Paris on Friday night to attend the PRO A League match against Gravelines.

The former world number one didn't bring luck to the Parisians who suffered their first loss of the season (99-107).

Out:

Kei Nishikori, Tomas Berdych, Aleksandr Dolgopolov, Sabine Lisicki, Ivo Karlovic, Elina Svitolina, Dominika Cibulkova

By Quentin Moynet