October 15, 2017 -- Shanghai, China
Roger clinched his 27th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title today and sixth title of the year after facing Rafael Nadal for the fourth time in 2017.
Playing near flawless, the Swiss star was aggressive and capitalized when he needed to as he dominated the match winning 6-4, 6-3.
This win marks Roger's 700th hard court victory as he improved to 10-1 against top 10 players in 2017. It is his 94th title of his career, now putting him level with Ivan Lendl. And the year is not over yet!
"I had no nerves really before the match, which was nice," he said. "I was pretty clear about how I wanted to play the match. And then I came out and started off very well. Felt relaxed from then on. I always know that Rafa can come back at any moment if he connects well, picks the right sides, and does the right things. The serve only got better. I guess I saved the best for last. I played some good matches now against del Potro and also now these two sets. In a way, it's not surprising, because I did feel good all week, and it does pay off to arrive early to an event. You can't do it all the time, but I was here since Thursday late night and that's five, six days to prepare for a Wednesday match. So I was ready."