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ROGER FEDERER

Federer sinks Söderling to clinch semi-final berth

Roger Federer sealed his place in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals after topping Swedish fourth seed Robin Söderling on Thursday.

Federer sinks Söderling to clinch semi-final berth

Federer will top Group B after producing his third dominant display at this year’s prestigious end-of-season event at London’s O2 Arena.

The world number two’s 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 victory over Söderling also means Andy Murray can book his spot in the final four by beating David Ferrer later on Thursday.

Söderling has no hope of qualifying due to the tournament’s complex rules involving the percentage of games won by each player.

Federer, bidding to win the title for the fifth time, said, “I’m happy I was able to come out and play a good, tough, solid match against a player who I thought was in good shape. I purposely didn’t want to know the calculations before the match.

“Last year, that played on my mind a little bit. I’m happy that all three matches were straight sets wins with no wasted energy. I’m playing real well. I’m through to the semis. So it’s all real good right now.”

Söderling was left to rue a crucial error that allowed Federer to take the first set.

“At first, I was pretty sure it was going out. But as soon as I let it go, I felt like this one is going much closer to the line than I expected. Of course, it went in. It was a little bit unlucky but it’s my fault,” he said.

The Tour Finals’ round-robin system forces every player to reach for the calculator to work out the various permutations that could see them through.

For Federer at least, the equation was relatively simple. He simply needed to win one set to be guaranteed top spot in the group, while

Söderling’s potential path to the last four was rather more headache-inducing.

After a disappointing season, which saw him lose the French Open and Wimbledon titles he won in 2009 as well as the number one ranking, Federer has been in rare form over the last few days in London.

His imperious display against Murray on Tuesday followed an equally

convincing straight sets win over Ferrer and a record of 14 wins from 15 previous meetings with Söderling suggested he would get what he needed to qualify.

It took the six-time Wimbledon champion just three games to secure the

first break as Söderling self-destructed with three successive unforced errors.

However, when Söderling finds his range with his booming groundstrokes, he can be an intimidating customer for even the very best.

Söderling’s baseline barrage kept Federer off balance in the eighth game and forced him into some uncharacteristic errors, which allowed the world number four to break back.

Söderling’s one success against Federer this year came in the French

Open quarter-finals and he was starting to rattle him in much

the same way he had on the clay at Roland Garros.

However, Federer is a different animal on hard courts and he regained his composure quickly enough to ensure the set went to a tie-break.

A sublime forehand from Federer secured two set-points in the breaker and he converted the second with a blocked backhand that Söderling opted to leave, only to turn and watch in horror as it clipped the line.

That misjudgment was enough to book Federer’s semi-final place, but

Söderling was still fighting for his tournament life and he missed a chance to get back in the match when he squandered two break points at the start of the second set.

Although Söderling fought off two break points in a marathon fourth game, Federer was playing with the drive of a man who needed the win far more than he actually did.

He kept coming at Söderling and secured the only break of the second set with a tremendous whipped forehand winner before serving out the match.

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ROGER FEDERER

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?

Roger Federer is talking optimistically about returning to his "highest level" after knee surgery, but does tennis have to start adjusting to a future without the Swiss star?

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?
Is it the end of the line for Roger? Photo: Martin BUREAU / AFP

The 20-time Grand Slam winner announced on Wednesday that he would be sidelined until 2021 after his second operation in a matter of months.

Federer remains upbeat, tweeting: “I plan to take the necessary time to be 100 percent ready to play at my highest level.”

In some ways 2020 is a good season to miss after the coronavirus ravaged the tennis schedule. Writing Federer off in the past has proved dangerous.

He returned from a six-month injury lay-off to claim the Australian Open in 2017, winning his eighth Wimbledon crown later that year.

But he will be 40 in 2021 and is now heading into uncharted territory.

Despite his groaning trophy cabinet, there are two factors that will motivate Federer to keep going — the risk of losing his grip on the men's Grand Slam title record and a missing Olympics singles gold medal.

Rafael Nadal has 19 majors, just one shy of Federer's mark and Djokovic has 17.

Spain's Nadal will be fancied to draw level with Federer at the French Open, rescheduled for September, while few would bet against Djokovic winning in New York weeks earlier.

In April, Federer said he was “devastated” when Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II. Last year he fell agonisingly short at the All England Club, failing to convert two championship points on his own serve against Djokovic.

The Wimbledon grass probably remains his best chance of adding to his Grand Slam collection — he has not won the US Open since 2008 and his only title at Roland Garros came in 2009.

Even though Federer has slipped from the very pinnacle of the game, he is still a major threat to Nadal and Djokovic.

'Golden' ambitions

Last year, the world number four had a 53-10 win-loss record and he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January in his only tournament this year.

Federer, who is still six ATP titles short of Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 109, has one glaring omission from his CV — the Olympic title.

The Swiss won doubles gold in Beijing in 2008 with compatriot Stan Wawrinka but lost in the singles final to Andy Murray in London four years later.

The postponed Tokyo Games will almost certainly be Federer's last opportunity to complete a career “golden” Grand Slam — he will turn 40 on the day of the closing ceremony next year.

Tennis will feel the loss of the elegant Federer keenly when he walks off the court for the last time.

Djokovic and Nadal have been the dominant forces in recent years but the Swiss remains the biggest draw and last month topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-earning athletes.

His last appearance on court was in front of nearly 52,000 fans — touted by organisers as a world record for tennis — at a charity match against Nadal in Cape Town in February.

Federer is nearly always the crowd favourite wherever he plays and has proved a perfect ambassador for the sport since he won his first Grand Slam title in 2003.

He certainly expects to be back and competitive next year.

“I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly but I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season,” he tweeted.

The avalanche of support from his adoring fans showed they would miss him too, but they will have to get used to a time when he is gone for good.

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