Crocked Federer hands Djokovic year-end title by default

LONDON - A mouth-watering finale to the season ended before it even began on Sunday when Roger Federer was forced to pull out through injury prior to his ATP World Tour Final showdown with world nunber one Novak Djokovic.

The 33-year-old Swiss, who spent two hours 48 minutes defeating compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka in a brutal semi-final the previous night, announced his decision on court as the 17,000-seat O2 Arena filled up.

It meant Djokovic became the first man to win the title three years in succession since Ivan Lendl in 1987.

World number two Federer, who was bidding for a seventh title at the year-ender, apologised but told the crowd he was not "match-fit" after developing a back problem.

Looking as stylish as ever as he stood on the blue indoor surface wearing a red and grey cardigan, Federer apologised, saying: "I hope you understand I wanted to come out personally and excuse myself for not playing ... I can't compete without a back at this level."

Despite the huge anti-climax for the crowd, some of whom had forked out thousands of pounds for a courtside ticket, there was no booing, with applause breaking out as seven-times Wimbledon champion Federer spoke.

Explaining how the injury arose, Federer said later: "I was feeling great until yesterday's tiebreaker. I felt all of a sudden the back was feeling funny.

"I tried to have treatment on it, medication, just tried to turn around as quick as possible really, but didn't really feel much of an improvement overnight."

It was only the third time in a career spanning nearly 1,000 matches that Federer has withdrawn because of injury.

Djokovic was not really in the mood for celebrating when he collected the trophy and a $1.92 million cheque.

"Obviously not the way I'd like to win this," said the 27-year-old, who clinched the year-end world number one ranking for the third time in four years this week.

"I feel sorry for Roger. I've been in tennis 10 years and I know Roger and Rafa (Nadal) have been the biggest competitors and always give their 100 percent. If Roger could have come out and played he would have played.

"I'm not the kind of player to celebrate these wins, but I have to celebrate the whole season and this trophy is the crown on the season," he added.

To appease disappointed fans, home favourite Andy Murray, thrashed by Federer in the week, agreed to play Djokovic in a one-set exhibition match, before partnering John McEnroe in a doubles game against Tim Henman and Pat Cash.

Federer now faces an anxious week as he tries to recover for the Davis Cup final against France in Lille next weekend.

Along with the Olympic singles title, the Davis Cup is the major honour which still eludes the 17-times grand slam champion, with Switzerland's hopes resting on the shoulders of him and Wawrinka.

"The way I feel right now there's no way I can compete at any level really," Federer said. "Probably in a few days it's going to be better."

(Editing by Mark Meadows and Ian Chadband)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Federer hangs tough to set up Djokovic showdown

LONDON - Six-times champion Roger Federer survived a late-night Swiss semi-final thriller against Stanislas Wawrinka on Saturday to set up an ATP World Tour Finals showdown against Novak Djokovic.

After a week of one-sided group stage action at London's O2 Arena, the season-ender burst to life with world number one Djokovic battling past Japan's Kei Nishikori after a mid-match meltdown before Federer saved four match points in a near three-hour duel with compatriot Wawrinka.

Federer eventually prevailed 4-6 7-5 7-6(6) against the man he will join forces with when Switzerland take on France in next week's Davis Cup final.

Djokovic, bidding for a third consecutive season-ending title having already secured the number one ranking, beat Asian trailblazer Nishikori 6-1 3-6 6-0 after losing his cool with another capacity crowd at the O2 Arena.

The real drama was saved to last, however.

Federer, sublime in a 6-0 6-1 thrashing of home favourite Andy Murray in his final group match on Thursday, was the big favourite to claim a 15th victory in 17 career clashes with Wawrinka, but he was in for a rollercoaster ride.

Australian Open champ Wawrinka seemed determined to tear up the script, which had Federer and Djokovic lined up to contest the final match of the ATP season on Sunday.

He outplayed 17-times grand slam champion Federer in the opening set and went toe-to-toe in the second before cracking in the 12th game when a missed smash gave Federer three set points.

One was enough.

Federer was riled by a line call when he dropped serve in the first game of the decider and the 33-year-old's mood darkened further when, serving at 4-3, Wawrinka saved one of two break points with a fluky volley off the frame.

But Wawrinka will have nightmares about 10th game.

Match point arrived but he watched a Federer forehand whistle past him. Another came, and this time Wawrinka netted a feeble volley. Wawrinka's nerve failed him again on a third match point when he could only spoon a volley, which Federer fizzed back past him before going on to win the game.

A tiebreak was needed to settle it and Wawrinka eeked out another match point, but this time his service return went long.

With the 17,500 fans, many in Swiss red and wearing Federer masks, making a deafening din, Federer had the coolest head in the cavernous arena, taking the next two points, and the match, with sumptuous drop volleys.

"I think I got lucky tonight. Stan played better from the baseline and that usually does the job on this court," a relieved Federer said. "But I kept fighting. It's tough but I'm thrilled to be in another final in London."

'OVER THE LINE'

He will now do battle with Djokovic for a 37th time, though he has precious little recovery time.

That said, Djokovic was complaining of "mental exhaustion" after ending Nishikori's impressive debut at the Tour Finals.

The Serb was rattled by a mid-match onslaught from the Japanese, who came back from a poor start to dominate the second set, only for his challenge to fizzle out in the decider.

After dropping only nine games in group stage wins against Marin Cilic, Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych, it looked like plain sailing again for the Serb but a double-fault, loudly cheered by the crowd who wanted a Nishikori fightback, threw Djokovic off track early in the second set.

He gestured sarcastically to the fans and admitted his tetchy loss of focus could have cost him dear.

"I mean, look, at the end of the day I cannot blame the crowd," Djokovic told reporters.

"The crowd has a right to do what they want, to cheer for whoever they want. Some individuals were going over the line but I lost concentration.

"I lost the break because of that. I allowed myself to be in the situation to lose the set, maybe even lose the match."

(Editing by Ed Osmond/Peter Rutherford)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Unstoppable Djokovic eyeing golden finale

LONDON - For 15 minutes Novak Djokovic appeared to have a fight on his hands at the ATP World Tour Finals on Wednesday, then the Serb dialed up his A game and tore Stanislas Wawrinka to pieces.

Such was the perfection of his tennis for most of a 6-3 6-0 thrashing it is hard to argue against him crowning his year as world number one and with a hat-trick of titles at the ATP's year-ending showpiece.

The 27-year-old has conceded only five games so far at the cavernous O2 Arena yet the arithmetic of round-robin tennis means the seven-times grand slam champion is still not definitely assured of a semi-final spot.

Even more bizarrely, U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic, crushed 6-3 6-1 by Czech Tomas Berdych in the day's earlier Group A match could conceivably scrape through despite two heavy losses.

Just like his tennis Djokovic, who faces Berdych on Friday, cut straight through a question about whether or not he gets bogged down with the various scenarios.

"Nobody needs to tell me I need to win," he said. "That's what I try to do. That's why I'm here. I try to win every match I play on. That's the kind of approach I will have on Friday."

In actual fact Djokovic would go through to the semi-finals with a three-set defeat against Berdych who at least gave himself some hope by trouncing Cilic.

"I'm going to try to maybe win three, four games. That would be better than the last time," a smiling Berdych, beaten 6-2 6-0 by Djokovic in the recent Beijing final, told reporters.

Djokovic has played some epic matches against Swiss Wawrinka, most notably at the previous two Australian Opens, beating him in five in 2013 and then losing a fifth-set decider 9-7 this year in the quarter-finals.

World number four Wawrinka has been up and down since winning his first grand slam title in Melbourne, but he was flying at the start on Wednesday.

Striking the ball with ferocious power he broke Djokovic's opening service game and then held for a 2-0 lead.

The backlash was lethal, however.

Djokovic began exploring the corners with his surgical groundstrokes and Wawrinka was overwhelmed as he lost 20 out of 23 points in a five-game swing that snatched the match away.

Wawrinka held serve at 2-5 but Djokovic took the opening set in the next game and romped through the second set in 24 minutes, ending it when he drove a forehand down the line.

"I thought he played very well the first two games. But I wasn't frustrated. I kept my calm. After that, it was a really amazing performance," Djokovic said of his 29th consecutive indoor win that leaves him one victory away from sealing the year-end world number one ranking.

With eight matches down and seven remaining, the sell-out O2 crowds are yet to see a singles match go the distance.

"It's the tournament of the best eight players in the world, people, fans, the crowd expect to see a little bit more excitement and longer matches," Djokovic said.

"I think that's going to change as the tournament progresses."

Berdych's defeat of Cilic was equally emphatic, although the Croatian debutant looks spent, having managed six games so far.

Cilic never looked comfortable from the moment he dropped serve in the first game and although he did have two break points to get back to 4-4 in the first set, Berdych held firm and went on to dominate the rest of the match.

It was quite a rebound for Berdych who had said he faced "mission impossible" after an opening 6-1 6-1 loss to Wawrinka.

"I think that's the beauty of this event," he said. "One day you can be swept from the court like I was and in two days' time you can come up play different tennis."

American world number one doubles duo Mike and Bob Bryan also got back to winning ways as they came from a set down to beat Jean-Julien Roger and Horia Tecau.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Stephen Wood and Toby Davis)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Classy Federer on brink of semis, Murray stays afloat

LONDON - Roger Federer's class shone like a beacon over the murky waters of round-robin tennis with a 6-3 6-2 defeat of Kei Nishikori at the ATP World Tour Finals on Sunday before Andy Murray stayed afloat by defeating Milos Raonic.

The 33-year-old Swiss maestro, bidding for a seventh title at the ATP's year-ending shootout, oozed confidence as he racked up his second consecutive victory in Group B.

However, Murray's 6-3 7-5 defeat of big-serving Raonic means that all scenarios are still possible going into Thursday's matches when group leader Federer faces Murray and winless Raonic takes on Asian trailblazer Nishikori.

Home favourite Murray, beaten by Nishikori on Sunday, had the added pressure of knowing that defeat to Raonic would have eliminated him but the world number six delighted a capacity crowd in the O2 Arena with a steadfast display.

Should Federer win a set against Murray on Thursday he will definitely progress to the semi-finals while Murray needs a straight sets victory to be all but guaranteed a last-four slot.

Nishikori, Asia's first qualifier for the prestige event, would also be well-placed if he beats Raonic with ease, while Canadian Raonic needs a straight sets win to stand any chance of reaching the semis.

Rather than needing calculators and algebra, Federer prefers to let his racket do the math and he was precise again on Tuesday as he outclassed U.S. Open runner-up Nishikori.

After six round-robin matches here in London there is yet to be a three-setter, but Federer's 69-minute masterclass against Nishikori kept the capacity crowd enthralled.

The 17-times grand slam champion needed an ace to fend off an early break point but once he broke Nishikori's serve in the fourth game he was in complete control.

Nishikori, so impressive against Murray on Sunday, showed some flashes of brilliance but was pressured into mistakes by Federer who racked up his 70th win of a stellar season that could yet see him return to world number one.

"I'm happy, you know, after two matches I'm standing here with two wins. It's very positive. That's about it," the imperious Federer told reporters.

While a set against Murray would be enough to take the Swiss through to the semis for the 12th time in 13 appearances at the elite tournament, he will not be taking it easy.

"If it's all to play for, a bit more nerves maybe," he said, before Murray's victory which deprived him of a guaranteed semi-final berth. "At the end of the day, it's how we play every match on tour 'cause if you lose, you're out, so..."

There was nothing spectacular about Murray's performance against Raonic, although the Scot was relieved to get the better of a man who had beaten him three times out of four.

Raonic's erratic forehand buckled in the sixth game of the opening set, gifting Murray a break which proved decisive.

Murray broke early in the second set but Raonic converted a rare opportunity to hit back and looked capable of setting up a deciding set until he wavered at 5-5.

Murray, who played six consecutive weeks to ensure his place in the draw, claimed victory and will now look forward to a make-or-break clash with Federer.

"It's always a pleasure to play against Roger. He's one of the greatest players that's ever played so to get the opportunity to play him in an atmosphere like this is excellent," Murray said.

"On Sunday, there wasn't much magic. But today I came up with some good shots in the right moments. Milos didn't serve as well as he can and that helped."

In doubles play Ivan Dodig (Croatia) and Marcelo Melo (Brazil) maintained their 100 percent record while French duo Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin also won.

(Editing by Ed Osmond and Toby Davis)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Djokovic to face Cilic at ATP finale, Murray to meet Federer

LONDON - Three-times champion and world number one Novak Djokovic has been drawn in a group with U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic in next week's season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London.

Defending champion Djokovic, who retained his Paris Masters title on Sunday after beating Milos Raonic, will also face Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka and hard-hitting Czech Tomas Berdych in Group A of the elite event staged at London's O2 Arena.

Djokovic takes a 27-match indoor winning streak into the tournament and Cilic, who is making his debut at the eight-man event, has not beaten the Serb in 10 previous encounters.

"It is going to be very difficult but very exciting," Cilic told the BBC. "I hope it is going to be an absolutely amazing experience, to play there for the first time. I have watched it on TV for so many years.

"Any of the matches could be a grand slam final so it is satisfying to play in it."

Second seed Roger Federer, who has won the year-ending tournament six times and who still has hopes of replacing Djokovic on top of the rankings before the end of the year, faces a clash in Group B with home favourite Andy Murray.

Murray, a three-times semi-finalist in London, and Federer have contested some titanic battles during their careers and there is very little to separate the two as they can both boast 11 wins apiece.

Former Wimbledon champion Murray, who won three titles in the past six weeks to secure a place at the tournament after slipping down the rankings, missed last year's tournament because of back surgery.

Debutants Raonic, the first Canadian singles player to qualify for the showpiece event, and Japan's Kei Nishikori, the first Asian-born man to qualify, complete the group.

World number three Rafael Nadal of Spain is missing because of surgery for appendicitis.

The lucrative tournament gets underway on Nov. 9.

Draw:

Group A: Novak Djokovic (Serbia), Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland), Tomas Berdych (Czech Rep), Marin Cilic (Croatia)

Group B: Roger Federer (Switzerland), Kei Nishikori (Japan), Andy Murray (Britain), Milos Raonic (Canada)

(Reporting By Michael Hann; editing by Martyn Herman and Pritha Sarkar)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Murray books London place, Federer eases through

PARIS - Andy Murray guaranteed his place at the World Tour Finals on Thursday while Roger Federer joined him in the Paris Masters quarter-finals to keep his quest for the number one spot alive.

Murray played almost flawless tennis as he breezed to a 6-3, 6-3 third-round victory over Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.

The 27-year-old Scot, who also stays on course for a fourth tournament victory in just six weeks, will now play either world number one Novak Djokovic or French showman Gael Monfils on Friday for a semi-final place.

Murray joins Djokovic, Federer, Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic in reaching the season-ending showpiece in London with David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori in possession of the other three spots but not yet assured places.

Canada's Milos Raonic is now the only player who can gatecrash the top eight but needs to win the Paris tournament to guarantee his place.

Federer kept the pressure on Djokovic in the race for the year-ending number one spot with a gritty 6-4, 6-4 victory over French world number 176 Lucas Pouille.

A crucial break for the 17-time Grand Slam winner in the seventh game of the second set, the longest of the match, paved the way for victory over Pouille, who came through as a qualifier and had only recorded one Tour-level win before Paris this week.

It was Federer's 14th straight victory and sets up a quarter-final matchup against Raonic.

"It was a difficult match against an opponent who had nothing to lose but I played well even if he put me under pressure and I'm very satisfied," said Federer.

"I feel pretty good and fresh in my head despite a lot of matches lately so now looking forward to tomorrow (Friday)."

Murray aimed a humourous retort at critics who have accused him of having had a poor season by writing "Bad Year!" on the courtside camera lens after his match.

"No, it wasn't a jibe, it's a bit of fun," Murray said.

"I mean, if people are going to ask me all the time why I've had such a poor year by my standards, then, yeah, you're allowed sometimes to say something in response to that.

"It's been a hard year, a tough year, but it hasn't been a bad year and it could have been a lot worse. Coming back from a surgery (on his back) is not easy at all, and I learned that.

"I had to dig deep at the end of this year in some ways to salvage the year, if you like.

"I would've signed up for being in this position when I had the surgery last year, I think."

- Berdych closes on London -

Berdych is one win from also sealing his place in London after easing into the last eight with a comfortable win over Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.

Following a first-round defeat at the Valencia Open last week, the 29-year-old Czech evened his record against Lopez at six wins apiece with a 7-5, 6-3 victory.

Chasing an 11th ATP title, and third of the year, the Australian Open semi-finalist now plays South African 14th seed Kevin Anderson for a place in the semi-finals.

Anderson won a three-hour thriller over Swiss third seed Wawrinka 6-7 (2/7), 7-5, 7-6 (7/3).

The two-time ATP winner, who had never been past the third round in Paris, converted a third match point to set up the meeting with Berdych.

"It was a great match and some of my best matches have been against Stan," said a delighted Anderson.

"I'm going to enjoy this win and later tonight I'll start thinking about tomorrow (Friday)."

Former champion Ferrer kept his quest on track to reach a second straight Paris final as he swept aside Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-2.

He needs to reach the semi-finals to guarantee his spot in London and will now face Japanese star Nishikori.

Nishikori is firmly on track to become the first Japanese player to qualify for the World Finals after defeating French number one Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Raonic kept his slender London chances alive with a hard-fought 7-5, 7-6 (9/7) victory over Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com