Roger Federer and Andy Murray avoided the need for fiddly mathematics on Thursday as they both produced dominant displays to qualify for the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals.
World No. 2 Federer topped Group B with a classy 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 victory over Sweden’s Robin Soderling in front of another near-capacity crowd at the 17,500-seat O2 Arena, before Murray joined him as runner-up by beating David Ferrer 6-2, 6-2.
Federer’s three victories mean the 16-time Grand Slam champion is two wins away from a record-equaling fifth title at the year-end showpiece and a US$1.6 million jackpot for winning the tournament undefeated.
PHOTO: REUTERS
They will learn who they meet in today’s semi-finals when Group A concludes with undefeated world No. 1 Rafael Nadal taking on Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic and Novak Djokovic up against winless Andy Roddick.
“So far it’s been good,” the 29-year-old Federer told reporters after following up impressive wins against Ferrer and Murray by beating Soderling, the man who stopped him in his tracks in the quarter-finals of the French Open this year. “I won against top 10 players in straight sets. That’s going to make me feel obviously awfully good for the weekend, but I hope I can keep it up. The tournament’s not over yet. This is really when it starts for me.”
Federer and Murray were in the same group in London last year when calculators were needed to work out the top two places, with Murray missing out by a game to Juan Martin del Potro.
PHOTO: EPA
Mercifully it proved simpler this time, with Federer gaining the solitary set he required to progress from Group B courtesy of a crucial error of judgment by Soderling.
Leading 6-5 in the tiebreak, Federer found himself pinned in the corner by a meaty Soderling forehand and could only float back a defensive backhand which looked ripe for the picking, but Soderling elected to leave it, thinking the ball was heading out. To his horror it landed on the sideline.
Federer in full flow hardly needs Lady Luck on his side, but he got another slice of fortune in the first game of the second set when he challenged a Soderling winner on break-point down.
The thumping “heartbeat” sound effect reverberated around the darkened O2 Arena as the fans and players waited for Hawkeye’s video verdict, which revealed that it had missed by a fraction.
That proved the end of Soderling’s challenge and his hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
“I think against a player like Roger you need to have a little bit of luck to win,” Soderling told reporters. “I definitely didn’t have the luck on my side today.”
Federer’s victory meant Murray knew the scenarios before walking out on court against Ferrer.
Needing to win just one set to finish runner-up, the Briton gave his fans some anxious moments when he lost the first two games against a fired-up opponent, before waking up and reeling off the next six.
Murray claimed victory in little more than an hour and was much sharper than he was during a lackluster defeat by Federer on Tuesday, although he was quick to play down his chances of winning the title, especially if Nadal awaits in the semis.
“I’ll try and win, but I’m not sure I’ve got a whole lot of chance if I play against him,” Murray, who will move back above Soderling to fourth in the rankings, told reporters.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
RSS