Sublime Federer ousts Djokovic, Nadal will be year-end No. 1Knockout!

London, November 15

Roger Federer lit up the O2 Arena with a dazzling 6-4 6-3 defeat of Novak Djokovic to hand the Serb an early ATP Finals exit and wreck his bid to end the year ranked No. 1.

In the 49th meeting between the two great rivals late Thursday night, Federer snapped a five-match losing run against Djokovic and gained some consolation for his heartbreaking Wimbledon final defeat. After both men had been beaten by Dominic Thiem earlier in the group, their eagerly-anticipated duel was a straight shoot-out to join the Austrian in the semifinals.

Cheered on by the majority of the 17,000 fans in the arena, Federer produced an astonishing display of power, grace and precision to which Djokovic simply had no answer. Djokovic’s first defeat by Federer in four years means Rafael Nadal will end the year as world No. 1 for the fifth time. Federer and Djokovic too have done it five times, one behind Pete Sampras’s record six times.

Federer’s victory celebration showed it meant so much to him. “I felt from the get-go I had good rhythm off the baseline and on the serve and that I felt like he was living dangerously if he was not going to play great tennis,” said Federer, who at 38 continues to mock the ageing process. “I got what I kind of expected, and it was a great feeling at the very end. The reaction showed.”

‘Bad match’

Djokovic said it had been a “bad match” from his side but admitted Federer had done everything right. “He was the better player in all aspects,” the 32-year-old said. “I have the utmost admiration for him. What he’s still showing on the court is phenomenal.”

The moment second seed Djokovic double-faulted twice in the third game to invite an early break for Federer, he was never really in contention. Federer was timing his groundstrokes to perfection while his serve was unplayable. He dropped only three points on serve in the opening set.

Nadal outlasts Tsitsipas

For the second time in three days, the indomitable Rafael Nadal fought off one of the game’s rising powers, outlasting swashbuckling Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7(4) 6-4 7-5 to stay alive.

However, the 33-year-old Spaniard will not know until later on Friday whether his Herculean effort was in vain.

His second round-robin victory meant Daniil Medvedev can no longer progress but Nadal needs the Russian to do him a favour and beat Alexander Zverev in the evening singles if he is to secure a semifinal spot from a complex group. — Agencies