Roger Federer still in the running for Masters Cup semifinal

Roger Federer kept his hopes of defending the Masters Cup title alive on Wednesday, defeating Radek Stepanek 7-6 (4), 6-4 in Shanghai.

"It's been a tough week for me from the start," said Federer, who still appears to be feeling the effects of the back sprain that ended his Paris Masters campaign. "It would have been impossible to play yesterday."

Federer's opponent, Stepanek, had little time to prepare for the match after jetting in to Shanghai following Andy Roddick's surprise withdrawal from the tournament.

The Czech player played his match against Federer using a racket borrowed from Novak Djokovic and socks borrowed from Andy Murray. The world number 26 had been on holiday in Thailand less than 24 hours before facing Federer in the Masters Cup.

"Maybe I got lucky that Andy withdrew," Federer said after the match. "And then Radek is not playing with his own rackets, so that made it a little bit more lucky again. I hope with a day of recovery, I'll make a miracle happen here and get through into the semis."

Andy Roddick withdrew from the Shanghai Masters early on Wednesday morning after spraining his right ankle during practice.

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