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ROGER FEDERER

Djokovic beats Federer to win ATP Tour Finals

Serb Novak Djokovic finished the best season of his life in fitting style as the world number one defeated Switzerland's Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday to win the London ATP Tour Finals title for a record fourth successive year.

Djokovic beats Federer to win ATP Tour Finals
Photo: Leon Neal/AFP

Djokovic is the first player in the tournament's 46-year history to take home the trophy four years in a row and he joins Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl on five victories at the season-ending event.
   
Only Federer, with six Tour Finals crowns, has won the tournament more times.

The 11th title of Djokovic's astonishingly dominant campaign served as the perfect finale to arguably the best run by any male player in the Open Era.

Playing in a record 15th consecutive tour-level final, Djokovic delivered another masterclass to record his 82nd victory from 88 matches this year and bank the winners' cheque for $1.05 million.
   
“I'm very proud, together with my team, for the achievements of the season,”  Djokovic said. 

“It could not have been a better finish,” he said on the day that coach Boris Becker celebrated his 48th birthday.

“It's been a long season, but the best of my life,” said Djokovic 

In dispatching Federer with such ease after an equally imperious semifinal win over Rafael Nadal, Djokovic showed why he has been able to move so far ahead of his rivals in a year in which he also won Wimbledon and the Australian and US Opens.
   
Meanwhile, Federer's defeat means Andy Murray is guaranteed to finish second in the year-end world rankings for the first time.
   
“I tried my best, I thought I played some great tennis all week and in the final, but Novak deserves the win today like so many times this year,” said 34-year-old Federer.
   
Djokovic and Federer have been the gold standard at the Tour Finals for over a decade, lifting the trophy 10 times between them in the last 12 years and making it to the final a combined 15 times.
   
Federer had ended Djokovic's 23-match winning run earlier this week with an impressive straight sets success in the group stage.
   
But although Federer held a 22-21 lead in his head-to-head record with Djokovic, ominously the 28-year-old Serb had taken the silverware in ten of their 16 career final meetings, including at Wimbledon and the US Open this year.
   
Federer gifted the trophy to Djokovic last year when the 17-time Grand Slam winner pulled out of the final just hours before the scheduled start to protect a back injury ahead of the Davis Cup final.

Almost unbeatable

Djokovic had to work harder to take the title this time, but even so he gave the impression of hardly breaking sweat.
   
Nadal described Djokovic as “almost unbeatable” after he failed to earn a single break point against the Serb in the semifinals and Federer didn't fare much better.
   
After both players squandered a break point in the first two games, Djokovic started to click into rhythm in the third game.
   
He unfurled a sublime backhand crosscourt winner to bring up a break point that he converted thanks to another Federer miscue.
   
Federer could ill-afford to be so generous and the world number three was scowling in frustration again in the sixth game when another sloppy forehand let Djokovic off the hook on break point.
   
That kind of profligacy had cost Federer dearly in the US Open final and it was the same story this time.
   
Djokovic, so consistent on his groundstrokes, earned two set points when he put Federer in an awkward position with a searing backhand that the Swiss could only prod into the net.
   
Djokovic seized the opportunity with in typically ruthless style, driving a winner down the line to seal the set.
   
The Serb remained untroubled in the second set and stepped up the pressure in the eighth game to bring up three break points.
 
This time the crisis brought out some of Federer's best tennis and clawed his way back from the brink with a string of big serves and booming winners.
   
But it was too little too late.
   
At 4-5 down, Federer found himself under siege again and crumbled with a double fault on match point giving Djokovic one more memorable moment in his golden year.

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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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