Shanghai win puts Roger Federer on a roll with world No.1 spot in sight

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The Fed Express rolls out of Shanghai with no signs of slowing down yet.

Roger Federer beat Frenchman Gilles Simon to win his first Shanghai Masters crown Sunday and his fourth title of the season.

The victory will move him above Rafael Nadal, who has been laid low with appendicitis, and up to second in the world rankings.

“Usually everything slows down at the end of the season,” Federer told reporters in China. “Not for me this time.

“This year everything is going really well. I have so many highlights to look forward to for the end of the season, which is nice.”

With just a handful of events to go until next month’s season finale in London, Federer could still mathematically challenge Novak Djokovic to end the year as the world No.1.

The 33-year-old Swiss ace beat Djokovic - who arguably inflicted more pain by defeating Federer in the summer’s Wimbledon final – in the semifinals in Shanghai.

“I’m not even going to change my schedule because of it,” Federer reflected on the possibility of regaining the number one spot.

“I haven’t thought about it, to be quite honest. I mean, it’s in Novak’s racquet. He dictates.

“But nevertheless, I’m still going to be playing and hopefully playing well again.”

Federer did not have it easy against Simon, who took the Swiss to a tiebreak in the opening set and had set point at 6-5 up.

But the 17-time grand slam champion snuffed out the threat to take the first set breaker 8-6.

The match was settled by another tiebreak in the second set which Federer duly closed out more comfortably for a 76 76 victory.

There was more good news for Swiss tennis fans as Stan Wawrinka qualified for the World Tour Finals in London.

Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Wawrinka are the only four qualifiers so far in the elite eight-man competitions, which begins on 9 November.