Roger Federer ended Novak Djokovic's 15-game winning streak at the ATP Finals with a 7-5 6-2 victory to reach the semi-finals at the season-ending tournament on Tuesday.
Djokovic was unbeaten on the indoor courts since 2012, a run of 38 matches, and had not lost at the ATP Finals since 2011 - winning the last three tournaments.
But he had no answer to Federer who won comfortably in the end in two sets to become the first man to reach the last four.
The six-time champion broke Djokovic in the final game of the first set, and again early in the second. Although Djokovic broke right back, Federer regained the lead a short time later and won the final four games.
On Sunday, Federer beat Tomas Berdych, giving him a 2-0 record to progress to the semi-finals.
Djokovic, who looked so comfortable in defeating Nishikori on Sunday, was on a 23-match winning streak and last lost to Federer in the Cincinnati final on August 23. He'll now face Berdych on Thursday for a spot in the semis.
The first set went with serve and the Swiss took the 11th game to love to put the pressure on Djokovic, serving at 5-6 down. Federer had a first set point at 30-40 up, but hit the net in a rally.
On a second deuce, Federer converted his second set point with a delicate backhand drop-shot over the net.
Federer led 2-1 in the second set after a quick exchange of breaks and broke for a 4-2 lead with a shot that clipped the net.
After taking the next match to love on serve, Federer earned himself a match point with a tremendous backhand winner from the baseline.
However, Djokovic prevailed at the end of a 26-shot rally for deuce. After Djokovic squandered advantage, Federer struck back for a second match point.
Djokovic shot wide and after an unsuccessful challenge, the ball was correctly called out.
No comments:
Post a Comment