Masters Cup Berth Showdown Culminates in Paris

Russian Nikolay Davydenko fifth singles player to qualify for Shanghai
Seven players, including defending Paris champion Berdych, vie for final three spots.
The tightly contested Race to the Tennis Masters Cup comes down to the wire this week at the BNP Paribas Masters, the ninth ATP Masters Series event of the season. Paris provides the sole stage for three more players to earn a spot in the prestigious circuit finale in Shanghai.
Russian Nikolay Davydenko, No. 5 in the INDESIT ATP 2006 Race, secured his second consecutive qualification in the Tennis Masters Cup on Sunday. Davydenko is assured of his circuit finale berth as four players cannot surpass him in the Race standings at the BNP Paribas Masters. This week’s winner will add 100 Race points to his 2006 total ahead of the Tennis Masters Cup to be held at Shanghai’s Qi Zhong Stadium from November 12-19.
The 25-year-old Davydenko reached the semifinals in his Tennis Masters Cup debut last year, going a perfect 3-0 in round robin action before falling to eventual champion David Nalbandian, who currently stands at No. 6 in the Race standings with 439 points. Davydenko joins Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Ivan Ljubicic and Andy Roddick as players who have already qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup.
Chilean Fernando Gonzalez and Croat Mario Ancic, respectively No. 9 and No. 10 in the INDESIT ATP 2006 Race, take their heated Tennis Masters Cup pursuit to Paris this week, and are seeded to face off in a third round meeting that will end one contender’s Shanghai bid. The two have split their previous four encounters, with Ancic claiming the last two.Gonzalez moved to within eight points of No. 8 Tommy Robredo in the Race standings and nine points of No. 7 James Blake following his appearance in the Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel final on Sunday, his third consecutive runner-up finish. The Chilean has added 122 Race points to his season total over the past three weeks, putting him within reach of his second appearance in Shanghai. Last year, Gonzalez went 1-1 in round robin action as an alternate.
Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Ancic moved ahead of Marcos Baghdatis (out of Paris with an injury, and therefore out of contention for a Tennis Masters Cup berth) to No. 10 in the Race standings and closed the gap on the final Shanghai spot to 23 points by winning the St. Petersburg Open title. Ancic will earn 25 points should he advance to the Paris quarterfinals. He said: "I am still in the race to qualify for Shanghai's Masters Cup, and next week it is all going to be decided. I am sure it will be an exciting week."