ESPN Tennis

The Tennis Masters Cup has its work cut out for it if it is to be remembered as anything other than another unwelcome reminder that the men's tennis season (and the women's, as well) is too long, too demanding and ultimately unsustainable.

Much of the event's star power pulled out of the season-ending, $4.45 million tournament, which is back in Asia after a two-year run at Houston's Westside Tennis Club and will be staged at the new state-of-the-art Qi Zhong Tennis Center in the Minghang district about 17 miles southwest of Shanghai.

Two-time Masters Cup winner Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick and 2005 Australian Open winner Marat Safin are out, a big blow to the event's sponsors and television rights-holders, and the ATP Tour.

When the Cup kicks off Sunday in Shanghai, it would be hard to make the argument that a field that now includes Argentine alternates David Nalbandian and Gaston Gaudio, who was last seen being jeered off the court at the BNP Paribas Masters after a questionable effort in his quarterfinal loss to eventual winner Tomas Berdych, is nearly as compelling as the original eight who qualified over the course of the Indesit ATP 2005 race.

Still, tournament organizers narrowly dodged a bullet when world No. 1 Roger Federer, whose participation was questionable up until the past few days due to a ligament injury to his right ankle, rounded into shape quickly and seems set to defend his title, which he has held since he first won in Houston in 2003.

"It feels way better than it felt a few days ago," Federer said Saturday in Shanghai. "I'm really pleased with the progress of the ankle. I was really worried because I only had four-and-a-half weeks to get ready for Masters Cup. The past four days I can go 100 percent in practice without holding back, and now I can not only think about playing in the event, but also winning it."

Federer's renewed health status doesn't bode well for the chances of his fellow competitors, who will be separated into two four-man groups and play three round-robin matches to determine two qualifiers from each group for the semifinals.

The Red Group will consist of Federer, Guillermo Coria, Ivan Ljubicic and Nalbandian, while the Gold Group will feature Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi, Nikolay Davydenko and Gaudio.

Some key figures to remember from the Federer file: a 77-3 overall record and a 50-1 record on hard courts in 2005, and a 31-match winning streak since his last loss to Nadal in early June in the semifinals at Roland Garros. Note to his fellow competitors in Shanghai: If you're to get to Federer, get to him early as he's won his last 24 consecutive finals, a streak that dates back to June 2003.

But most of the pre-tournament talk leading up to Sunday's opening matches, which will feature Federer vs. former nemesis Nalbandian (5-0 against the Swiss star before losing their last three encounters) and Coria vs. Ljubicic, concerned the withdrawals of nearly half the field before the first ball was struck.

A beaten-up Roddick, who last week suffered a lower-back strain in a quarterfinal match at the Paris Masters Series before re-aggravating it in a semifinal loss, officially pulled out of Shanghai on Wednesday.

"Though I have tried to continue with practice, the lower back spasms continue, and after being evaluated by medical staff upon my return to the United States, it is now clear that I am not able to resume tennis-activities for 10-14 days," Roddick said in a statement.

Hewitt withdrew from the BNP Paribas Masters, the last tournament before Shanghai, due to foot and groin injuries, and then pulled out of the Masters Cup to stay home with his wife to await the birth of the couple's first child.

"I am extremely disappointed as I have always enjoyed playing Tennis Masters Cup and had a great time in Shanghai in 2002, winning the event and maintaining my year-end world No.1 status," Hewitt said in a statement issued by the ATP Tour. "With my baby due in the next two weeks, it is not possible for me to come."

Tournament director Brad Drewett, a former pro himself, was philosophical about his fellow Aussie's last-minute announcement.

"We're obviously all very disappointed that Lleyton can't be with us this year," Drewett said. "He has had an amazing record at the Tennis Masters Cup over the years, but we understand his situation and wish he and Bec [Cartwright] all the best for the birth of their first child."

And Safin, who handed Federer one of his three losses in 2005 (young Frenchman Richard Gasquet dealt him the third loss in Monte Carlo in April) in a scintillating Australian Open semifinal in January and is one of the only players capable of matching up with him, is recuperating from knee surgery after playing in only one tournament (Cincinnati) since Wimbledon.

But any tournament with a healthy Federer in the field has something to offer as the shot-making, all-court wizardry exhibited by the unflappable 24-year-old from Basel ought to placate at least a few fans, sponsors and TV viewers around the globe.

If his ankle holds up, look for Federer to extend his mastery at the Cup (13-1 in three career appearances) for a third consecutive year. Still, 19-year-old Nadal is never one to be counted out as he showed in his pitiless demolition of Federer on clay in Paris and, more recently, in his comeback from two sets down against Ljubicic in the final of the Madrid Masters Series tournament in mid-October.

Look for those two to be joined in the semifinals by a rested and in-form Agassi, and one dark horse, perhaps either Ljubicic or Davydenko, both of whom are enjoying the best seasons of their careers.

Whit Sheppard is a Paris-based sportswriter and writes for a variety of international publications.