The 2018 Shanghai Rolex Masters has now one single chapter to be addressed as the men's singles final got its competitor. With Djokovic already in the final act after a successful demolition job against Alexander Zverev, all eyes were pointed to the Roger Federer vs Borna Coric encounter.

As it turned out, the young Croatian national solved Roger Federer puzzle for the second time in a row after that outstanding success on the grass court in Halle. While Coric will try to hold off Djokovic for the first time, Roger Federer might have some questions circling around his mind.

The 37-year-old Swiss Tennis icon will drop to world No. 3 when the rankings are updated on Monday.

Roger Federer had no answer to Coric's flawless tactic

With that memory from Halle serving as a confidence booster, Borna Coric entered the match fully aware of how his tennis output must be in order to win the match. And he did just that, from the very beginning, as he went on with an increased level of aggressiveness on Federer's second serve. Breaking Federer, from the get-go, fueled that confidence torch as Coric was determined to play out the match on his own terms.

While Borna Coric showed a high level of symmetry in his game, Roger Federer had difficulties in putting in his first serve. He got punished when he had to play with the second as Coric stepped inside the baseline to take the ball on the rise thus making Federer run way outside his comfort zone.

As the unforced errors started piling up on Federer's side, Coric didn't let such a great opportunity slip out of his hands.

The second set started in a similar fashion with Roger Federer losing his serve right from the start. According to the ATP official website, that was their fourth official meeting, a match at the end of which Borna Coric was able to balance the scales.

In the end, it was 6-4 6-4 for the young Croatian who will now be playing his very first Masters 1000 final against Novak Djokovic.

What comes next for Roger Federer

As the season is about to reach its finale, Roger Federer is set to have a few more stops on the road. According to live-tennis.eu, today's result wouldn't have mattered anyway in the ranking debate.

After Djokovic sealing his spot in the final, Federer was set to drop to world No. 3 anyway.

The absence of a Masters 1000 title in 2018 may present a new opportunity which means there is a small chance to have Federer play at Paris-Bercy, the last Masters 1000 of the season and a tournament he usually skips.

However, the next sure stop on his schedule will be at Basel, Switzerland where he's also the defending champion.
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