Roger Federer will lock horns with Novak Djokovic in final – Barclays ATP World Tour Finals 2012
Former world number one, Roger Federer from Switzerland, will square off against top seeded Novak Djokovic in the final showdown at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, a season-ending event taking place between elite eight players in London, England. The Swiss toppled home favourite Andy Murray in straight sets while Djokovic bounced back to overpower sixth seeded Juan Martin Del Potro in a three-set nail-biter to set up this clash.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion, Federer will take on the Serbian Ace in their 29th battle against each other. The Swiss not only edges in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head Series by 16-12 but also claims victory in his last encounter at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati against Djokovic. He unleashed flurry of winners, eventually notching up a 6-0, 7-6(7) score line in 80 minutes.
This was Federer’s second straight win over the 25-year-old, following stealing the show in semi-finals at the Wimbledon Championships.
The 31-year-old is enjoying a spectacular season, having grabbed six year-to-date titles including a Grand Slam at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. He is also bidding for his seventh title at The 02 Arena. Spicing it further, Federer is looking forward to become first person since Ivan Lendl to conquer this event for third straight time.
In his last match against the Olympic gold medallist, Federer dropped his serve once but cashed all three break opportunities to formulate a 7-6(5), 6-2 victory. He clobbered a better first serve share of 54 per cent and impressively marked 27 out of 32 points on it.
Federer commented about his next match-up against the Serbian ace:
"It's exciting, no doubt about it. I love playing against Novak. He's had a great year. He's had a great tournament so far... It is a big opportunity playing sort of the last match of the season, and facing off against Novak obviously is always special, especially here at the World Tour Finals."
The world number one, Djokovic on the other hand is also enjoying a great season. He has bagged five title this season and reclaimed his top rank at the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings this week.
The Belgrade native made a drastic entry in his last battle at this indoor hard court tournament. He lost his serve once and eventually gifted away the opener. After trailing at 1-2 with a break down, the Serb found his rhythm and ultimately carved out the victory in two hours and 12 minutes against the Argentinean number one.
Djokovic commented about making title-round berth:
“I really look forward to it. It's already a great success [to get to this stage]. But knowing it's the last match of the season, I'm really going to try to give my best physically and mentally tomorrow to eventually try to get the trophy.”
Fans can expect to see a thrilling battle between the two stars. However, Federer is likely to maintain consistency in his game and will formulate a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory against the reigning Australian Open titlist.
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