Either Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer will improve to 2-0 at the World Tour Finals and take control of Group Stan Smith on Tuesday. Djokovic is coming off a straight-set beatdown of Kei Nishikori, while Federer made similarly quick work of Tomas Berdych.
A tie will be broken–at least temporarily–when Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer square off for the 43rd time in their careers during round-robin action at the World Tour Finals on Tuesday.
The head-to-head series stands at 21-21 following Djokovic’s 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 triumph in the U.S. Open final this summer. Djokovic has won four of six meetings in 2015, including four of the last five. The world No. 1 also prevailed in the Wimbledon title match via a 7-6(1), 6-7(10), 6-4, 6-3 scoreline. Federer’s two victories this season have come in Dubai (6-3, 7-5) and Cincinnati (7-6(1), 6-3).
This ends a streak of four consecutive encounters between the two players in finals. But they are not entirely strangers to early-tournament meetings, as they also battled in London round-robin competition in 2013. Djokovic took that match 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-2 to improve to 2-1 lifetime against Federer at this event. The Serb also got the job done in the 2012 championship match, while Federer came out on top in the 2010 semifinals. They were scheduled to vie for last year’s title, but the Swiss had to withdraw due to a back injury.
Federer is dealing with no such troubles now and can leave everything on the court without a Davis Cup final to worry about, as was the case in 2014. The 34-year-old, a recent champion in Basel, is a stellar 60-10 for his 2015 campaign after beating Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-2 on Sunday night. Federer won 12 of the last 16 games following a brief 2-0 first-set deficit.
Djokovic needed only one hour and five minutes–four minutes fewer than Federer–to roll over Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-1 on Sunday afternoon. The top seed is now 79-5 for the season and 23-0 in his last 23 matches since falling to Federer in Cincinnati.
“It was quite unusual [in 2013] to play each other so early in a tournament,” Federer said of their previous World Tour Finals round-robin contest. “This doesn’t feel now so crazy early because we’ve had the week of preparation; we’ve both had a match now. I think we both feel like we’re in the tournament.”
And they both will be regardless of Tuesday’s outcome. Djokovic, the three-time defending champion, is looking too good for anyone at the moment–even for Federer–but do not be surprised if this is not the last time these two see each other on opposite sides of the net in London.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
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Now that I have watched the match, I can say that I thought they both played very well in that first set. One would have thought it would go to a TB. Novak made a few errors, but still had game point to hold serve and take it to a TB. But Fed was able to capitalize with a great volley that landed on Novak’s side of the court on the line. Fed was just that much better.
The second was strange. Novak was broken by Fed in his first service game, but then came right back and broke Fed. It was even at 2-2 and one would have thought that this was going to be another tight set. But Novak seemed to lose his cool and composure. Fed kept it together and stayed sharp while Novak started making some unusual errors.
Things fell apart quickly for Novak in the second set. The stats showed that it was close. But the one that stood out to me was Novak winning 50% of second serve points, while Fed won something like 68%. Novak is usually the won who wins more second serve points. Winner and UE’s weren’t that different. Fed did have more winners to UE’s in the match, while Novak had a few more UE’s than winners. But looking at the stats overall, there wasn’t much between them.
Fed got it done when it counted and took advantage of his opportunities. I thought he did well going DTL with his forehand and taking that shot early. He played aggressive and smart. For Novak I just don’t think there are a lot of excuses for this loss. He played very well in the first set and somehow dissembled in that second set. A well deserved win for Fed!
It’s Djokovic’s physical strength and mental strength which have propelled him to the top and are responsible for his impressive record this year. But mental strength does not preclude mental fatigue and there is no quick fix if this is what is happening. There have been signs the stress of maintaining his current level is taking its toll. As Nats has already pointed out, when the armour is pierced the mojo starts to evaporate – sometimes amazingly quickly.