Federer humiliates Nadal at World ATP Tour Finals
LONDON: Roger Federer put on exhibition a class of his own in London on Tuesday to thrash world number two Rafael Nadal in straight sets at the ATP World Tour Finals.
Fans of Roger Federer had been waiting for this moment as Rafa Nadal had won 17 previous encounters against the man who possesses 16 Grand Slam titles. Federer has only managed to defeat Nadal eight times during his career.
However, the Swiss had an outright advantage against the Spaniard as he had won all the three previous bilateral meetings indoors including the last year’s final here.
Federer took just about an hour during which he produced sublime standard of tennis to sink 6-3 6-0, a victory that has ensured him a place in the last four with a match to spare.
Roger Federer, who is the defending champion, dazzled the capacity crowd of 17,500 at O2 Arena in London and produced a number of magical moments where Nadal could present no answers to a number of quality winners by the Swiss.
The victory seemed crucial for Federer, the man who had Nadal as his biggest rival in the career so far. Federer told reporters after his emphatic victory, “This win ranks high because it’s against my biggest rival, probably. 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.”
Now the group has turned quite interesting as Federer has won both of his matches to qualify into the last four while all the three other players have a realistic chance of making it where Nadal will have to defeat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday.
Tsonga has been on song as he outclassed Mardy Fish of the United States brutally 7-6 6-1 and can prove a real tough opponent against the Spaniard.
Rafael Nadal had his hopes high about making into last four saying, “It’s not the moment to say goodbye. If I win my next match I will be in the semi-finals. I just have to accept today he (Federer) played too good for me.”
Federer said, “We’ve played so many times, sometimes it just derails for you, like it derailed for Rafa today and it did for me at the French Open. You know what good front-runners the top guys are. Once you start rolling, it’s hard to stop the player. Next thing you know, you’re facing a debacle.”
It is important to mention here that Rafael Nadal has never won the season-ending title during his career.
Talking about his potential knockout match against Rafael Nadal, Tsonga told reporters, “You can never count out Rafa. It’s an open match to a degree but I still favor Rafa because of who he is.”
On Wednesday, the reigning World Number 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia will take on Ferrer while Tomas Berdych, who was edged out by Djokovic the other evening will face Tipsarevic who is making his debut in the event.
Roger Federer. Courtesy: Getty Images
A Defeated Nadal. Courtesy: Getty Images
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