Federer sinks Tipsarevic in opener
Roger Federer started his bid for a seventh ATP Tour Finals title in record-breaking fashion as the Swiss great crushed Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-1 at London’s O2 Arena yesterday.
Federer’s victory took him to 40 match wins in his 11 appearances at the prestigious season-ending event, breaking the previous record of 39 held by Ivan Lendl.
“I’m very happy I played so well because Janko’s a great player,” said Federer. “I’ve had a great year but I hope it’s not over yet. It’s my third trip to London this year. The other two were pretty good and I hope something similar is going to happen this week.”
Since winning Wimbledon for a 17th Grand Slam crown and returning to the top of the world rankings in July, Federer has endured something of a rough ride by his own sky-high standards.
He squandered a chance to win a gold medal in the Olympic singles after being thrashed by Andy Murray in the final and then suffered a shock loss in the US Open quarter-finals against Tomas Berdych. Federer was also beaten by Juan Martin del Potro in the final of his hometown event in Basel last month and surrendered his number one ranking to Novak Djokovic as a result.
But whatever his struggles elsewhere, Federer has always thrived at this season finale and the world number two would be looking to make amends here in London.
Djokovic relishes Murray rivalry
Meanwhile, Djokovic admits he is relishing the chance to renew his friendly rivalry with Murray at the ATP Tour Finals.
“We practice with each other very often,” said Djokovic. “We are big rivals as well, but also very fair to each other. It is a very friendly relationship.”
After winning their opening group matches on Monday, Djokovic against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Murray against Tomas Berdych, they will meet today with the victor almost certain to progress to the semi-finals.
“Playing Andy is always a big challenge for me. He has had lots of success in London, playing in front of his crowd with big support. When I’m playing Andy I need to be ready for long rallies and a physically demanding match. We know a lot about each other. I’m sure we are going to come up with some really good tennis.”
India duo beaten in Tour Finals opener
Meanwhile, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna suffered a disappointing start to their ATP Tour Finals doubles campaign as the Indian duo were beaten 6-4, 6-7 (1/7) 12/10 by Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen on Tuesday.
Djokovic
“Playing Andy is always a big challenge. He has had lots of success in London, playing in front of his crowd with big support. I’m sure we are going to come up with some really good tennis.”
Federer
“I’ve had a great year but I hope it’s not over yet. It’s my third trip to London this year. The other two were pretty good and I hope something similar is going to happen this week at the World Tour Finals.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2012.
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