Two major tennis tournaments in China have wrapped up with two notable players laying claim to victory overseas. On the men's ATP Tour, Roger Federer once again overcame his old nemesis in Rafael Nadal to win the Shanghai Masters and make more history in the process. Meanwhile, on the WTA, Maria Sharapova finally laid claim to victory since her return to the sport by winning the fourth annual Tianjin Open.

Federer once again wins the Shanghai Masters

Going into the finals at the Shanghai Masters, 36-year-old Roger Federer faced a familiar for in 31-year-old rival Rafael Nadal.

However, the Swiss master ending up dominating the Spaniard in route to winning in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.

This victory gave Federer his sixth title of the year and the 94th singles title of his storied career. This now ties him with Ivan Lendl for the second most singles titles in the Open Era (since 1964). It was also the 27th Masters 1000 title that he has won and was his first win since he took Wimbledon in July for his record-extending 19th grand slam.

This was also the fifth straight victory for Federer over Nadal, including the fourth time that he has defeated him this year. He had never beaten Nadal five times in a row before this year. In fact, Federer has accounted for 40 percent of the losses that the Spaniard has suffered this season.

The loss snapped Nadal's 16-match win streak.

Sharapova wins the Tianjin Open for first title

Maria Sharapova defeated Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets 7-5, 7-6 (8) to win the Tianjin Open.

In doing so she claimed her first WTA title since returning from her 15-month suspension in April after being banned for meldonium. It is her first title since she won the Italian Open in May 2015 and it is also the first time she has won the Tianjin Open.

Sharapova entered the tournament as a wildcard and manage to advance to the finals but had to overcome major deficits to defeat Sabalenka, the 102nd ranked player in the world.

She found herself down 4-1 in the first set and 5-1 in the second but fought her way back to victory both times.

Prior to this victory, Sharapova has played in five events, reaching the semifinals in her first tournament at the WTA Tour Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. She barely played due to injury and struggled when she did. Sharapova then got into the US Open as a wildcard and reach the fourth round. In between these two events she played the ATP & WTA China Open, getting bounced in the third round.
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