Holder Roger Federer produced an hour of sublime quality to crush Rafael “Rafa” Nadal 6-3, 6-0 at the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday and clinch a place in the last four with a match to spare.
The 17,500-capacity crowd crammed into the O2 Arena would have been expecting something longer from the eagerly anticipated 26th clash of the great rivals, but the 60 minutes of magic Federer served up will live long in their memories.
Blazing winners to all corners of the court, the Swiss 16-time Grand Slam champion was simply unstoppable as he recorded his most emphatic victory against the man who had beaten him in 17 of their previous encounters.
Photo: AFP
“This win ranks high because it’s against my biggest rival, probably,” Federer, whose game looked sharper than ever despite him turning 30, told reporters. “It was a great match for me from start to finish. I’ve felt the power of Rafa in the past, so this is a great match for me, a nice win.”
World No. 2 Nadal now faces a win-or-bust clash with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga today in his final Group B match after the dangerous Frenchman produced fireworks of his own to beat the US’ Mardy Fish 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 and stay in contention.
Federer’s dazzling display softened the blow for the home crowd and organizers after local favorite Andy Murray withdrew because of a groin injury.
Murray, the world No. 3, announced he was pulling out after aggravating the injury during his opening Group A defeat by Spain’s David Ferrer on Monday.
Serbia’s world No. 9 Janko Tipsarevic, the on-site alternate, will take the Briton’s place for the remaining matches.
There was something of a novelty value about the evening match as it was the first time the two dominant players of the last decade had clashed with neither at No. 1 in the ATP rankings and the first time they had met in round-robin play.
Federer trailed 17-8 in their head-to-head record, but had won all three previous meetings indoors, including last year’s final at the O2, and once again the court proved perfect for his game as winners flowed from his strings like liquid gold.
Federer, bidding for a record sixth title at the tournament in three different cities, took charge in the sixth game of the first set when he prevailed in a 33-shot exchange on break point to lead 4-2 and from that moment never looked back.
He needed just 32 minutes to seal the first set and, try as he might, Nadal was powerless in the face of the onslaught as Federer swept to a victory every bit as ruthless as Nadal’s thrashing of the Swiss in the 2008 Roland Garros final when he offered up just four games in three sets.
Nadal, winner of 10 majors, but never the season-ending title, can still redeem himself, although Tsonga will fancy his chances after a convincing display against weary debutant Fish, who can no longer reach the semis.
Tsonga stormed through the last six games in swashbuckling fashion, although Federer still tips Nadal to progress.
“You can never count out Rafa,” he said of the match, which has now become a traditional knockout. “It’s an open match to a degree, but I still favor Rafa because of who he is.”
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