Flying Fed takes out Djokovic in style
Perhaps nothing will ever make up for Wimbledon this summer, but roger Federer secured a measure of revenge last night when he knocked Novak Djokovic out of the aTp Finals.
With a stunning display that evoked memories of his peak from some 10 years ago, Federer defeated his most difficult rival 6-4, 6-3 in just 72 minutes, to the delight of a packed O2 arena.
By doing so he delivered a favour to another great rival, rafael Nadal, who now cannot be caught by the 32-year-old serb in the race to become the seasonend world No 1.
There were suggestions that Djokovic may have been slightly hampered by an injury to his elbow, which has been a problematic area for him, but few could have withstood the Federer blitzkrieg.
‘I couldn’t be happier right now,’ said the swiss, who lost his opening match on sunday. ‘I had a clear gameplan and it worked to perfection.’
at times Djokovic’s body language was a little flat, and his early exit is quite a shock. he was the heavy favourite to win the tournament and it had taken a remarkable display by Dominic Thiem to beat him in the previous match. Federer joins Thiem and stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals. Nadal will try to join them when he faces Tsitsipas this afternoon.
Federer had not beaten Djokovic since this event four years ago, and of all the 26 defeats he had suffered against him none will have stung more than this year’s Wimbledon final. although it is not something he would admit to, the two match points that the swiss let slip at 8-7 in the deciding set that July afternoon have probably haunted him ever since. But if 38-year-old Federer is a popular figure across town in south West London, the crowd favouritism towards him at the O2 arena is probably even more pronounced. It has become a regular stop on the itineraries of swiss tennis enthusiasts and there was the usual hefty representation from his homeland.
Nothing in the recent formbook suggested that he would beat Djokovic, but if the serb does have a vulnerability it is that he can get distracted when the crowd is against him, which is often the case.
he was certainly edgy at the start, throwing in three double faults in his first two service games and getting broken to love to trail 2-1.
Djokovic (right) only started playing to his accustomed level in the fifth game, with both men hitting beautifully crisp groundstrokes. Federer had not looked overly impressive in his first two matches but now he seemed to be relishing the quicker conditions provided by this court and the balls being used.
Bearing down with his aggressive strategy, Federer’s display was underpinned by some superb serving. he dropped only three points on serve in the first set.
Federer broke for 3-2 in the second set and cruised home. some of Djokovic’s groundstrokes became alarmingly wayward, almost lazy in their execution, and he was broken to love in the final game of the match. earlier, Britain’s Joe salisbury had failed to make the doubles semi-finals after he and american partner rajeev ram were beaten 6-7, 6-4, 10-7 by Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo.