Roger Federer and Milos Raonic will take center stage on the first night in London. Their round-robin showdown on Sunday is a rematch of a recent Paris Masters quarterfinal, which Raonic won to clinch his spot in the year-end championship.
Roger Federer and Milos Raonic will be squaring off for the eighth time in their careers and for the second time in little more than a week when they meet again in Group B round-robin action at the World Tour Finals on Sunday night.
They just faced each other in the Paris Masters quarters, with Raonic scoring a 7-6(5), 7-5 upset. Based on head-to-head series, to say that win came unexpectedly would be an understatement. Federer had won all six of their previous encounters and was 14-3 in total sets, having won 10 in a row. The Swiss beat Raonic twice in 2014 prior to Paris; 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the Wimbledon semifinals and 6-2, 6-3 in the Cincinnati semis.
Despite ending in losses to Federer, those were two of Raonic’s most important results en route to his first-ever London berth. The eighth-ranked Canadian, who has compiled a 49-18 record this year, has been consistent from start to finish aside from a brief slump earlier this fall. Raonic rebounded from that cold spell to beat Jack Sock, Roberto Bautista, Agut, Federer, and Tomas Berdych on his way the final.
Federer has not lost to anyone other than Raonic since the U.S. Open. This hot streak includes a pair of Davis Cup singles wins (he still has the final at France later this month) and titles in Shanghai and Basel. The world No. 2’s 68-11 record put him comfortably in the year-end championship for the 13th time in his career and also has him in mathematical contention for the year-end top ranking.
It is hard to see Federer going down to Raonic twice in succession, and not just because of the majority of their past head-to-head history. Although the relatively low-bouncing surface is similar to what was in Paris, it is generally not one on which the underdog should be beating the 17-time slam champion. Furthermore, Federer is six-time winner of this event while Raonic has never play a single match at the O2 Arena.
Pick: Federer in 2
[polldaddy poll=8421488]
who ya got?
I pick Fed in two sets.
Roger’s vast experience plus the force of the crowd support for him will combine to overwhelm Raonic. If Milos’ serve is firing on all four cylinders he could keep if competitive for a set or even two. If not, it will be a nice, easy opening round for Fed.
Federer in 2
raonic has really raised his level in the second set. He has been the better player I think. He was totally blown off the court by an impeccable federer in set 1 but things are very different in the second set. Raonic is winning so many more baseline rallies!
All it takes to lose a set is a few key points so raonic has to be really careful. He was a little unlucky not to break fed’s serve with all those 3 brk pts being wasted. One of fed’s second serves barely clipped the line on break point.
raonic has really raised his level in the second set. He has been the better player I think. He was totally blown off the court by an impeccable federer in set 1 but things are very different in the second set. Raonic is winning so many more baseline rallies!
All it takes to lose a set is a few key points so raonic has to be really careful. He was a little unlucky not to break fed’s serve with all those 3 brk pts being wasted. One of fed’s second serves barely clipped the line on break point.
Raonic’s ability to think on the court has also improved. He was totally clueless in set 1 and he has made fine adjustments in set 2. His minds seems to be working better on the court now
raonic is spreading the court really well now. So much penetration on his shots right now
its a pity raonic is unable to win the second set. He was definitely the better player leading upto the tie break. He had several brk points, one of which was a set point!
But as I said , a few badly played key points is all what it takes to lose a set. Raonic crumbled in the tie break and fed was cool under pressure.
Nishikori vs federer will be a very good battle
“Every time you play Roger, the crowd’s on his side, even if he’s playing a local favorite,” said Raonic. “It’s hard for people to cheer against Roger. I’ve played him a few times. I’ve played home favorites on big courts also a few times, and in Davis Cup, many different situations.”