2010 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals: Preview – Roger Federer versus Novak Djokovic
It is the clash of the titans at the O2 Arena, as the World Tour Finals (WTF) enters its last stages on Saturday. If Spanish legend Rafael Nadal meeting local favourite Andy Murray in the afternoon was not enough action for tennis fans, we have Swiss maestro Roger Federer taking on the Serb Novak “Nole” Djokovic in the evening. This is the first time in six years that four of the top five players meet in the semis.
Commenting about the semis, a delighted Djokovic said, "It's great for the tournament to have the top four guys in the semis. It's a big challenge for all of us.”
If you were to sum up the second semi final of the day, nothing but champions’ battle comes to mind, as the 2008 WTF champion Nole meets four-time WTF champion Federer.
Looking to claim the title for the second time, Djokovic had an almost perfect run in the event this year. Other than a defeat to Nadal in his second match, owing much to an eye problem than anything else, Djokovic almost sailed into the semis. Having won matches against Czech Tomas Berdych on Monday and then against American Andy Roddick last night, Djokovic qualified for the semis with a 2-1 win-loss mark.
Qualifying for the fourth straight year, Djokovic’s career best in the event came in 2008 when he moved into the finals with a similar 2-1 record in the round-robin (RR) stage. After defeating Roddick in the semi final and Nikolay Davydenko in the final, Djokovic bagged his first ever WTF title. This was his eleventh career title.
Federer, on the other hand, is a seasoned player when it comes to the WTF event. Qualifying for the eighth straight year, Federer is the only player besides Roddick to have played in Houston, Shanghai and London. He has made five final appearances in the event from 2003-2007, bagging the title on four of these occasions.
Having had a tumultuous season this year, Federer aims to end the season on a high note and what better way to end it than a WTF title. Returning back to form lately, Federer moves into the semis with a perfect 3-0 mark having defeated David Ferrer, Robin Soderling and Murray in the RR stage.
Meeting for the fifth time this year, the pair’s head-to-head score for the season lies at 3-1 in favour of the Swiss. Their most recent meeting was in the Basel final where Federer defeated Djokovic in straight sets to clinch the home title. Federer also commands an enormous 12-6 lead in the pair’s career head-to-head.
When asked about his match with Federer, Djokovic exhibited nothing but confidence. He said, "Yes, the last two times I've lost against Roger, but they were close matches so I'll try to step it up, take my chances and I hope to prevail. I think my confidence since Wimbledon is very high and I've played very good tennis and made a lot of good results."
It should be somewhat easy for Federer to defeat the Serb to move into the final since they have played each other mostly on hard courts,. Given the Serb’s recent form, it can be said without a doubt that fans can expect a thrilling three-setter.
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