Masters Cup is wide open

There is no doubt that the Masters Cup in Shanghai will miss World Number One Rafael Nadal, but his withdrawal has certainly thrown the tournament wide open. Nadal has unquestionably been the best, and most consistent player of 2008, highlighted by his Grand Slam title successes at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The Spaniard is deservedly going to end the year at the top of the game, but this end of season cup is now a real chance for one player to end the year on a real high going into 2009.
Here are my thoughts on the eight player's chances next week:

Group A
Roger Federer- Despite not having the best of year's by his standard and having to endure, in my opinion, some harsh criticism, the Swiss star has won four titles this year and seemed to be playing back to his best when he won the U.S. Open. The world number two had a rough start to 2008 when he was struck down by Glandular Fever which clearly seemed to have an effect on him as he failed to defend his Australian Open title when succumbed to a straight sets loss to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. Despite many critics, Federer has had a good year by anyone's standards and goes into next week as the favourite and is most definitely the one to beat.

Andy Murray- British number one Andrew Murray goes into the Masters Cup full of confidence after a fantastic end to the year which saw him comfortably qualify for Shanghai. 2008 has been extremely successful for the Scot, with him capturing 5 ATP titles including two Masters Series titles. Murray will end the year at a career high ranking of number four regardless of what happens this week, and will really fancy his chances of adding to his number of career titles in Shanghai.

Andy Roddick- The American has had a relatively quiet year by his standards despite comfortably cementing his place in the Masters Cup. The US number one has been relatviely consistent this year, without doing anything spectacular. The world number six has picked up three titles so far this year in San Jose, Dubai and Beijing. Roddick will be looking for a fantastic end to a rather uneventful season for the American.

Gilles Simon- The Frenchman, who has replaced the fatigued Rafael Nadal, has had by far the best year of his career. The 23 year old has captured three titles this year in Casablanca, Indianapolis and Bucharest and has shown great consistency throughout the season. Simon's greatest triumph this year came in Madrid three weeks ago when the Frenchman beat Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals before losing to Murray in the final of the Paris Masters. Simon will look to continue this rich vein of form going itno the Masters Cup.

Group B
Novak Djokovic- The Serb had a phonomenal start to the year which saw him win his first Grand Slam title in Australia earlier this year. Djokoivic continued this marvellous run of form throughout the year, picking up two masters series titles in Indian Wells and Rome along the way, thus clearly establishing himself within the top three in the world along with Federer and Nadal. Despite not performing as well in the second half of the year, if Djokovic can rise to the pressure then he is a serious contender for the title.

Nikolay Davydenko- One of my least favourite players on the tour due to his distinct lack of charisma, the Russian has had a typically consistent season. Without doing anything remarkable, and being surrounded by match-fixing allegations, the Russian has picked up three titles this year and has stayed comfortably as world number five. I don't really see Davydenko has a contender for this week's title so if you are reading this you might want to put a bet on him!

Jo-Wilfred Tsonga- Despite being plagued by injuries, 2008 has still been a real breakthrough year for the talented Frenchman. After winning the Paris Masters last week Tsonga could really be the surprise package in Shanghai and no one will relish the prosepct of facing him. Tsonga really demonstrated his credentials by reaching the Asutralian Open final and will look to end the year as he started it, if not one step better!

Juan Martin Del Potro- The Argentine has had a memorable 2008 which has included an incredible 23 match winning streak. The streak contained four consecutive titles for the 20 year old over the summer as he demonstrated the credentials which show that Del Potro really has a chance of going far in Shanghai. The world number eight is a real confidence player so it is vital that he starts off well in the group stages, and if this is the case then he realy has chance of causing a shock in the Masters Cup.

Overall, i feel that the tournament is extremely close to call and it will be fascinating to watch as the events unfold. In Group A I believe that Murray and Federer will go through reach the semi-final, but Group B is much harder to call, with all four players in with a real chance of getting through. On current form i would suggest that Djokovic will go thorugh, with the last semi-final place being between Del Potro and Tsonga, with Davydenko only having a slim chance of going through. If i am going to stick my neck on the line, i think that Del Potro will make the semis.

In terms of the overall winner my tip is that Murray will claim Shanghai glory, with Del Potro being the one to look out for next week. It should prove to be a fantastic tournament with the best players in the world battling it out in China as they look to gain a psychological edge going into 2009 and win one of the most prestigious titles of the season.

(Picture provided by Brenda Kong)