Federer beats Thiem to get back on track at ATP Finals

LONDON — Sometimes no practice makes perfect — for Roger Federer anyway.

After cancelling his training session a day earlier, Federer produced a much-improved performance to get his campaign for a seventh ATP Finals title back on track with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Dominic Thiem on Tuesday.

Having lost his opening round-robin match to Kei Nishikori, the 20-time Grand Slam champion was still some way from his fluent best but dropped just six points on serve and took advantage of a wayward display from Thiem to break twice in both sets.

“(It) was not about my forehand or my backhand or my serve or anything,” Federer said. “I guess it was my head. For that sometimes you need a break.”

With a 1-1 record in round-robin play, Federer will likely need to defeat Kevin Anderson on Thursday to improve his 14-1 record of reaching the semifinals at the season-ending tournament.

It will be a repeat of a dramatic Wimbledon quarterfinal earlier this season, in which Anderson came from match point down in the third set to win in five on his route to the final.

“I’m happy I’m getting a chance to play him again and have a rematch,” Federer said. “Hopefully I can take my revenge. It was a great match but obviously one that hurt.”

Anderson thrashed Nishikori 6-0, 6-1 earlier Tuesday to move to 2-0, with the lopsided scoreline all but assuring the South African debutant’s place in the last four.

Thiem is facing an opening-round exit at the O2 Arena for a third straight season and will need to defeat Nishikori in straight sets to have any chance of progressing.

“I really want to play a good match,” Thiem said. “Doesn’t matter if it’s the last one here or not.”

As had been the case in both players’ opening-match losses on Sunday, unforced errors flowed early on. While Federer was able to compensate with his serve, Thiem was left exposed.


The Austrian’s forehand gifted Federer a break for a 2-1 lead and then his volley came up short to help the Swiss star extend that advantage to 5-2.

Federer, who is chasing a 100th ATP Tour title, started to play more relaxed and seemed content with simply keeping the ball in play and waiting for mistakes. It worked, as another forehand mistake from Thiem put Federer in complete control in the second set.

A Federer backhand up the line set up match point and Thiem’s 34th unforced error — another volley into the net — ended the day’s second one-sided contest.

“I didn’t feel good out there,” Thiem said. “I was playing very, very bad. Many unusual mistakes.”

The 32-year-old Anderson, who lost just eight points on serve, was on the verge of completing just the second whitewash in the competition’s history until Nishikori won the penultimate game.

“Among the best I’ve played,” Anderson said. “I think I did a really good job constantly applying the pressure and not letting up.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Goffin beats Federer at ATP Finals, faces Dimitrov in final

LONDON — A set up against a man he’d never lost to, Roger Federer looked to be cruising toward a shot at a seventh ATP Finals title. David Goffin had other ideas.

The Belgian rallied in the semifinals on Saturday to claim the biggest win of his career and stun the favorite 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

“It is the best win of my career, for sure,” said Goffin, who lost all six of his previous encounters against Federer.

“I started to feel the ball better at the end of the first set, so I wanted to be more aggressive. It paid off. I started to serve well. My forehand was going much better.”

His opponent on Sunday in the final will be Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian defeated Jack Sock 4-6, 6-0, 6-3.

With Federer having lost just four times during a season that saw him claim his 18th and 19th Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, it looked ominous for Goffin when the six-time champion broke twice on his way to winning the first set.

However, Federer wasted two game points in the second game of the second set. Goffin produced a forehand passing shot to take his first break point of the match.

“It was a tough game to get broken at 1-0,” Federer said. “I had I think multiple game chances to get out of the game and go 1-1, keep the pressure up. Things really turned around for him at that moment.”

The winners flowed from Goffin’s racket, unsettling Federer, who coughed up uncharacteristic errors.

Goffin needed just the one break in both the second and third sets and displayed a previously unseen grit to deny Federer his lone break point opportunities in either set.

It was testament to the remarkable season Federer has put together that his loss came as such a major surprise.

However, neither the loss to Goffin nor the fact he finishes the year second, behind Nadal in the rankings, will prevent him from being favorite for the Australian Open in January.

“It’s been an amazing year for me,” Federer said. “Been so happy that I was playing at this level from the beginning till basically the end, till today.”

The match was typical of Goffin’s inconsistent week on his full debut at the tournament, after he played one match as an alternate a year ago.

After defeating a wounded Rafael Nadal in his opening match, he was thrashed in just 74 minutes by Dimitrov, and qualified for the semis with a comfortable win over Dominic Thiem.

“Both are really special,” said Goffin, after becoming only the sixth man to defeat Nadal and Federer in the same tournament. “It was the first time against Rafa. Then the semifinal for the first time for me here, and to beat Roger for the first time here in such a big event, big tournament, it was the perfect moment.”

Dimitrov ensured he’ll end the year at a career-high No. 3 after coming from behind to defeat Sock.

Having won his previous two matches for the loss of just four games, Dimitrov’s title credentials were given a far more rigorous examination by the American.

Dimitrov is the first debutant to reach the final since David Ferrer in 2007.

Goffin will be the underdog again after winning just two games against Dimitrov on Wednesday.

“It will be something different hopefully,” said Goffin, who can move to a career-high No. 5 if he claims the title. “I hope to play the tennis I played today. I’ll try to be more aggressive, also go for the shot, and yeah, go for the trophy.”

source: sports.inquirer.net