Thiem beats Djokovic in 3 sets to advance at ATP Finals

LONDON >> Dominic Thiem became the first player to advance from the group stage at the ATP Finals after outlasting five-time champion Novak Djokovic 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (5) in a seesaw crowd pleaser on Tuesday.

That leaves Djokovic facing a winner-takes-all match against Roger Federer — in a highly anticipated rematch of this year’s epic Wimbledon final — to decide who will join Thiem in the semifinals.

Federer beat Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (2), 6-3 earlier, which means he and Djokovic both have a 1-1 record before playing each other in their last roundrobin match Thursday.

Thiem improved to 2-0 after beating Federer Sunday, while Berrettini was eliminated after a second straight loss.

The Djokovic-Federer rematch was always going to be the highlight of the group stage at the season-ending tournament — where they have 11 titles between them — but now becomes even more of a blockbuster with a semifinal spot directly at stake.

Federer also has the added incentive of avenging that Wimbledon defeat, when the Swiss star missed two match points before losing 13-12 (3) in the deciding set.

“Actually, it’s good for me to play him again, and maybe that all helps to get a chance to get him back,” Federer said. “Maybe it took me a few days, couple weeks at most, to get over the Wimbledon loss . ... We’ll find out, but I think it’s all flushed away from my side. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then.”