“Great atmosphere, a great opponent here in London at The O2, definitely incredibly special. Just a night I enjoyed from the beginning. I played incredible, and I knew I had to because that’s what Novak does and I was able to produce. So it was definitely magical,” Federer said.
The third-seeded Federer, making his 17th appearance, reached his 16th semi-final at the season-ending ATP Finals and ended Djokovic's season, along with his hopes of finishing year-end No. 1 in the ATP Rankings for a record-tying sixth time.
Djokovic needed to win the title to have a chance at knocking Rafael Nadal off the top spot, but now Nadal is guaranteed his fifth year-end No. 1 finish, evening him with Federer, Djokovic and American Jimmy Connors.
Federer barely made a mistake against Djokovic, attacking the Serbian and serving flawlessly. He finished with 23 winners to only five unforced errors.
In the first set, Federer won 87 per cent (20/23) of his service points and made only one unforced error to start their 49th ATP Head to Head meeting. Djokovic had won their last meeting, saving two match points in the Wimbledon final, but the Serbian threw in a loose service game at 1-1. The World No. 2 donated two double faults to start, and on break point, 0/40, Federer walloped a sitting backhand.
“He was the better player in all aspects and absolutely deserved to win,” Djokovic said. “He served great, moved well, returned my serve very well. He did everything right.
“I have the utmost admiration for him and everything he's doing on the court. What he has achieved over the years and what he's still showing on the court is phenomenal. He's a role model, even for me, and one of the toughest opponents I’ve had in my career. Looking at his career and what he's still doing just inspires you.”
Djokovic, who led their head-to-head series 26-22, responded in the second set, saving two break points in the opening game to rip back momentum. The Serbian then saw his first break chance of the match in the fourth game, but couldn't convert and ran into more trouble on his serve at 2-2.
Djokovic, hearing chants of “Let's go, Roger, let's go!”, fell behind 15/40 and sailed a forehand long to give Federer the second break of the match. The Swiss, who lost the Wimbledon match points on his racquet, broke once more to close it out.
Federer improved to 53-9 on the season and earned his record-extending 59th ATP Finals win. The Swiss will now go for a record-extending seventh title this weekend.
“I have been playing very well this season, and I think this victory proves that today,” Federer said.
“I felt from the get-go I had good rhythm off the baseline and on the serve and that I felt like he was living dangerously if he was not going to play great tennis. That was a good feeling to have, but then again, that doesn't mean much because Novak has done an unbelievable job in his career to find ways to either make you play bad or to just be better on you on the day or squeeze another victory out like the way he did at Wimbledon.
“I knew the beginning wasn't key, but I knew it was important. I had a great run on the serve, as well, throughout I think that first set. I was able to keep the pressure going and mix up my game. Because he was playing incredibly aggressive at one point midway through the first set, which surprised me a little bit.
“Things just worked very well for me. Tonight was one of those nights where I was clear in the game plan. I got what I kind of expected, and it was a great feeling at the very end. The reaction showed.”
Date: 15 November 2019, Source: ATP
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