Tennis: Federer serene as pretenders dream at ATP Finals

LONDON - Roger Federer will walk out on court for his 14th semi at the ATP Finals against David Goffin on Saturday as the hot favourite, with the Swiss veteran bidding for a seventh end-of-season title.

In the absence of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the event at London's O2 Arena was billed as a potential showdown between Federer and Rafael Nadal, until the Spanish world number one was forced out by injury.

Nadal's withdrawal -- after a punishing three-set defeat by Goffin -- has given a rather lopsided look to the tournament, with Federer facing Goffin in the semis and, if he wins, either Grigor Dimitrov or Jack Sock in the final.

Federer, who has had an extraordinary season since returning to the Tour after a long lay-off in 2016, will not be losing too much sleep over his opponent, whom he has beaten six times out of six, conceding just two sets in those matches.

In fact he has never lost a single match to any of the remaining players in the competition.

The world number two, who has won the ATP Finals a record six times, but not since 2011, said he was relishing his success at the age of 36, but it felt different from his early days.

"In the beginning it was like being a kid in a candy store, sharing the locker room with legends of the game, seeing them prepare, being able to practise with them, playing doubles with or against them," he said. "Special times."

"I'm very calm," Federer added. "But there's a deeper understanding of what I'm going through. So maybe the satisfaction is when I do win and I do show up at the best tournaments in the world, like here, I know it's not normal maybe to be here, so I appreciate it actually maybe even more so now at this age."

For his part, Goffin, who reached the semis after thumping his good friend Dominic Thiem on Friday, is not going into the match full of confidence, despite his victory against Nadal earlier in the week.

"Honestly, I don't know what to do tomorrow," said the 26-year-old Belgian. "But I'm going to try something, something different, something that I've never done in the past."

REVITALIZED DIMITROV

In the other semi-final on Saturday, a revitalised Dimitrov takes on American surprise package Jack Sock, who reached the ATP Finals courtesy of victory at the Paris Masters earlier this month and finished behind Federer in the Boris Becker group.

Dimitrov, 26, topped the Pete Sampras group after an impressive week that included a tight three-set win against Austria's Thiem and a thumping victory against Goffin, punch-drunk after his victory against Nadal.

The sixth-seeded Bulgarian, long touted as a potential member of tennis's elite group, has enjoyed the best season of his career, winning three titles including the Cincinnati Masters.

"I've worked a lot on and off the court," he said. "I felt I've been pretty consistent, playing well. Yeah, I think just a little bit of everything.

"I think every small success we're trying to build on and build on. That's why you're here on that stage right now, because this is what you deserve. Also you get what you put in."

American number one Sock has enjoyed a fairytale few weeks, following up his victory in Paris by beating Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic and shocking world number three Alexander Zverev in London to reach the last four.

"I didn't expect to be in London in the first place," said the 25-year-old. "To be here was a good achievement given the way my second half of the year was going. Paris was a big step for me.

"Now to put myself in the position to play on the weekend is another big step forward, another confidence booster."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Murray eyes long reign at the top

LONDON, United Kingdom -- Andy Murray has warned Novak Djokovic he is ready to embark on a sustained period of dominance after the Scot crowned a golden season by finishing on top of the world.

Murray produced an imperious display to defeat Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 and win the ATP Tour Finals at London's O2 Arena on Sunday.

The 29-year-old's first Tour Finals title came with the hugely significant bonus of ensuring that he remained above Djokovic in the year-end rankings after he knocked the Serb from pole position two weeks ago.

Having spent the majority of his career overshadowed by the incredible achievements of Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Murray can finally claim he is the best player on the planet and he has no intention of relinquishing his grip on that honour without a fight.

"I would like to try and stay there, obviously. It's taken a huge effort the last five, six months to get there," Murray said after his 24th consecutive victory brought him a fifth title in his last five tournaments.

"I'm aware that's going to be extremely difficult because I had a great year this year and I only managed to do it by one match.

"But now that I've got there, I would be motivated to try and stay in that position."

When he wakes up on Monday morning, even Murray might be tempted to ask himself if the last 11 months were all a dream.

As if winning a second Wimbledon title, taking a second Olympic gold medal and becoming a father for the first time wasn't enough to keep him happy, Murray is now looking down on the rest of the tennis world from his new perch.

-Major motivation -

And, with Djokovic stuck in a rut for several months and Federer and Nadal battling with injuries in the twilight of their careers, Murray knows there's a chance for him to add to his three Grand Slam titles and extend his lead at the top.

"The majors are what gets me working hard and what really, really motivates me. When I go away in December to train, I'm training with the Australian Open in mind," he said.

"I'd want to try and achieve as much as I can these next few years because I'm not going to be around forever.

"These next few years, I want to try and make them the best of my career, try and win as much as I can. "

Murray had lost 13 of his previous 15 meetings with Djokovic, including the Australian and French Open finals this year, and he admitted it was a huge moment finally to get the better of his old rival.

"Over the last couple of years I lost a lot of the big matches against him. This one was a big match and I managed to get over the line," he said.

"Mentally that will give me a boost going into next year as well."

- The best -

Murray is now firmly established as one of Britain's all-time great sportsmen, but he demurred when asked where he rated.

"I have no idea. It's an impossible question. In tennis terms, in terms of my achievements over the years, I'd say I'd be the best tennis player from the UK," he said.

By most standards, winning two Grand Slams, including a first French Open, would make 2016 a great year, but Djokovic goes into the off-season admitting he will be happy not to think about tennis for a while.

The 29-year-old has won only one title since June and losing the top ranking to Murray in a tournament he had won for the past four years was the final indignity.

Assailed by whispers about his private life and criticised for bringing a 'spiritual guru' into his camp, Djokovic insists he is still hungry for success.

"The last five, six months have not been ideal. I could have maybe done slightly better in some tournaments," he said.

"I've just been through so much emotions since Roland Garros. I needed some time to really take it all in but I didn't have that time.

"I guess that all had its toll. Right now I'm actually looking forward to have a month and a half with no tournaments.

"Nothing is eternal. It's time to leave the racquet aside for a little bit, just recover, then I'll start thinking about next season."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Murray in a hurry to keep up with brother

LONDON - It was quite a couple of hours for the Murray brothers at the ATP World Tour Finals on Friday.

Younger sibling Andy crushed Switzerland's world number three Stan Wawrinka 6-4 6-2 to top his group and stay on course for a season-ending finale against Novak Djokovic.

Shortly before taking to the O2 Arena court, it was also confirmed that Jamie Murray and Brazilian partner Bruno Soares would end the year as the world's top-ranked duo, courtesy of a defeat for rivals Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Jamie has made a habit of beating his higher-profile brother to milestones.

He won a grand slam title -- the 2007 Wimbledon mixed doubles -- five years before Andy won the U.S. Open.

Jamie reached number one in the ATP doubles rankings in April, seven months before Andy hit the singles summit.

Now he has clinched the year-end top spot for the first time with Soares, a few days before Andy can match him and confirm he is the top dog in men's tennis.

Jamie could also beat his brother to the ATP World Tour title as the doubles final on Sunday is the warm-up act for the singles.

"Regardless of what happens over the weekend, we can look back on this year and be very proud of what we've done as a family," said triple grand slam champion Andy.

It looks odds-on that Murray junior will meet Serb Djokovic in the final when not just the title but the year-end number one ranking would be up for grabs.

Djokovic, who faces Kei Nishikori in his semi-final on Saturday, cranked up the pressure on Thursday by trouncing David Goffin in his final group match, edging just ahead of Murray on points.

Murray faced a far trickier task against U.S. Open champion Wawrinka. After weathering an early storm, he won with something to spare to extend his winning streak to 22 matches and set up a semi-final against Canadian Milos Raonic.

A straight-sets defeat could have eliminated Murray and he knew that simply winning a set would earn a semi-final spot.

MANGLED RACKETS
Wawrinka, still harbouring hopes of reaching the semis for a fourth year running, began aggressively but a netted volley in the seventh game handed Murray the first break.

The Scot failed to convert three set points at 5-3 but was dominating the match by then and held in the next game.

After spending three hours 20 minutes grinding past Nishikori on Wednesday, Murray was not keen on more overtime and broke twice to romp through the second set -- Wawrinka mangling two rackets as his hopes faded.

"The first set was tight, there weren't many chances," he said. "The second I had already qualified and Stan needed to win so it was a bit easier for me to play freely."

Murray's winning streak equals his run earlier this year. Two more victories would deliver his maiden ATP World Tour Finals title while depriving Djokovic of a sixth, and the season-ending top spot.

First, he must get past Raonic for the third time in a major clash in London this year, having beaten him in the final at both Queen's Club and Wimbledon in the summer.

"I'm certainly not taking anything for granted. I know it will be hard," said Murray whose brilliant late-season run has landed him four consecutive titles.

Round robin play concluded later as already-eliminated Croatian Marin Cilic warmed up for next week's Davis Cup final against Argentina by beating a tiring Nishikori 3-6 6-2 6-3.

It was his first win in six matches at the tournament and the 200 ranking points he earned means he will move above Gael Monfils to a career-high six. (Editing by Tony Jimenez and Ian Chadband)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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