Federer outclasses Djokovic to reach ATP Finals semis

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LONDON, Nov 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Roger Federer produced a near-flawless
performance as he avenged his Wimbledon defeat by Novak Djokovic and
qualified for the last four of the ATP Finals with a 6-4, 6-3 victory on
Thursday.

The Swiss started the tournament with a chastening straight-sets defeat to
Dominic Thiem but found his best form when it mattered.

Defeat for the second seed spells the end of his bid to overtake Rafael
Nadal and finish as year-end number one.

Roared on by a raucous packed house at London’s O2 Arena, six-time champion
Federer looked in the groove from the start, cranking up the pressure on
Djokovic’s serve and dropping just three points on his own serve in the first
set.

The Serbian upped his game at the start of the second set but Federer, 38,
saved the one break point he faced and broke twice to canter to victory.

The third seed, making his 17th appearance at the ATP Finals, is into his
16th semi-final at the year-end event.

Djokovic needed to win the title to have a chance at knocking Nadal off the
top spot, but now the Spaniard is guaranteed to finish the year as the top-
ranked player for the fifth time, tying him with Federer, Djokovic and
American Jimmy Connors.

“Great atmosphere, great opponent,” said Federer, who hit 23 winners and
made just five unforced errors. “It was definitely incredibly special. I
enjoyed it from the beginning.

“I played incredible and I knew I had to because that’s what Novak does. It
was definitely magical.”

Speaking about what was different from the Wimbledon final, where he
squandered two championship points on his own serve, he said: “I won match
point I guess.

“It was so close at Wimbledon. It was a privilege to play that match, so
many ups and downs. I couldn’t be more happy right now.”

Federer finishes second in Group Bjorn Borg, behind Thiem, who also beat
Djokovic earlier this week. The Swiss will face the Group Andre Agassi winner
on Saturday.

– Metronomic Federer –

Djokovic looked nervy at the start of the winner-takes-all contest, double-
faulting twice in the third game, in which he was broken to love.

As cries of “Let’s go Roger, let’s go” rang around the cavernous stadium,
Federer was dead-eyed on his serve, hitting eight aces, including a second-
serve ace, in the first set.

Federer’s service level dipped in the second set and 32-year-old Djokovic
earned his first break point of the match in the fourth game, which the Swiss
saved.

In the next game Djokovic slipped to 15-40 and sailed a forehand long to
give Federer his second break of the match. The Swiss broke once more to
close out victory.

Djokovic had won his past five meetings with Federer, including their epic
five-set battle in the final at Wimbledon in July.

“He was the better player in all aspects and absolutely deserved to win,”
said Djokovic. “He served great, moved well, returned my serve very well….
He did everything right.”

In Thursday’s early match in Group Bjorn Borg, which was a dead rubber,
eighth seed Matteo Berrettini beat Thiem 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.

Fifth seed Thiem did not hit the heights he reached during his three-set
win against Djokovic, notching just 12 winners compared with 50 against the
Serbian.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has already qualified for the semi-finals from Group
Andre Agassi, leaving Nadal, defending champion Alexander Zverev and Daniil
Medvedev to scrap it out for the other spot on Friday.