Djokovic, Federer set for Shanghai
Roger Federer is defending his Shanghai Masters title as Novak Djokovic enters with good form.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal carry decent form into the Shanghai Masters as Roger Federer and Andy Murray prepare to resume their seasons.
The big names have had different preparations heading into the ATP 1000 event played on hard-courts in China.
Djokovic and Nadal have enjoyed deep runs in Beijing, while Federer and Murray last played at the US Open and Davis Cup.
Federer is the defending champion and Djokovic (2012-13) and Murray (2010-11) shared the titles in the four years prior.
Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori also carry good form into the event after impressive runs in Tokyo.
Nadal needed confidence more than the others, having been eliminated in the round of 32 at Flushing Meadows.
World number five Tomas Berdych clinched a title in Shenzhen heading to Beijing, where he had an early exit after a surprise loss to Pablo Cuevas.
The Czech said the hard-court swing in Asia was tricky.
"I made one tournament title, the other one didn't go my way," Berdych told the ATP World Tour website after his loss.
"[I'm] just going to try to do well in the third one, my last one. It's always a difficult part of the year. We have to travel a lot.
"The conditions are always very different, very difficult, week by week here in China. It's not easy to adjust…it's the same for all of us just ahead of the last and big tournament."
Federer and Murray come into the event fresh, with the Swiss star's run to the final at Flushing Meadows his last tournament.
Murray has led Great Britain into the Davis Cup final, but they were his last matches.
While Djokovic, Murray, Federer and Wawrinka have qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals, there are still four places to play for.
Berdych, Nishikori, Nadal and David Ferrer are favourites to clinch those, and they can take a huge step with good runs in Shanghai.