Tennis: Federer clobbers Djokovic in London

Tennis: Federer clobbers Djokovic in London

Tuesday, November 17, 2015 11:59 pm


Friends still: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic

Friends still: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic

Roger Federer produced a masterclass performance at the ATP Tour Finals in London Tuesday evening defeating World Number One, Novak Djokovic in two straight sets, 7-5, 6-2.

The victory coupled with Kei Nishikori’s three-set 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 decision over Tomas Berdych, means Federer has qualified for the Group Stan Smith semi-finals. He is the first to qualify in the two groups.

Federer had lost four out of six matches against Djokovic this season

The Swiss has now moved ahead 22-21 in their FEDEX head to head.

Both players looked sharp early on, especially on serve, but Federer seized the momentum, taking the opening set 7-5 in 44 minutes. He would keep rolling in the second set, totaling 19 winners and a like number of unforced errors in closing out the match in one hour and 17 minutes.

“You have those days as well when you’re not feeling your best — not even close to the best,” said Djokovic, the reigning three-time champion.

“Credit to Roger for mixing up the pace, giving me always a different ball. He used the slice and spin very wisely. He served very efficiently. I made a lot of unforced errors [22]. Just handed him the win, especially in the second set.

“But, again, that’s sport,” Djokovic added. “Sometimes these kind of matches, these kind of days happen. The good thing is that it’s a round-robin system, so I still have an opportunity to reach the semis.”

Federer won 75 per cent (27 of 36) of his first-serve points, and converted four of eight break-point opportunities.

Djokovic had been riding a 23-match win streak since falling to Federer in the Cincinnati final on Aug. 23. He had won 16 straight matches at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, including wins over Federer in 2012, 2013 and 2014 (walkover).

The rivals have met more times (43) than any other two players in the Open Era with the exception of Djokovic and Rafael Nadal (45). The pair’s respective coaches, Hall of Famers Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, played 35 times.

*Source: www.atptour.com


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