Federer storms into semis in London

Written by: Staff on 25th November 2010

Federer storms into semis in London |

Roger Federer completed a clean sweep in Group B to progress to the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday , beating Robin Soderling 7-6(5), 6-3.

Having clinically defeating David Ferrer and Andy Murray earlier in the week, the No. 2 seed looked set to dominate once again as he took the initiative with a break in the third game. However, Soderling’s strong serve and big hitting kept him within touching distance, before two uncharacteristic forehand errors from Federer saw the Swede break back.

Both players were then able to hold serve to see the first set into a tiebreak. A mini-break saw Federer serving for the set at 6-4 and despite recovering on this occasion, a costly error of judgement ultimately saw Soderling lose the set. While seemingly in control of the rally, a looping Federer backhand was there for Soderling to smash, but instead the Swede chose to leave it and could only look on as the ball bounced in.

Federer told Sky Sports afterwards that this had been a pivotal moment in the match. “Obviously it’s a huge advantage if you win the first set. one of those floater shots, you’re just not sure and you doubt yourself for just a split second which Robin did and the next thing you know the ball has gone in, it’s just the worst feeling,” said the Swiss.

This was probably the decisive factor in a match that Federer always appeared to have the upper hand indespite its close scoreline. Soderling might have sensed it was not his lucky day when he thought he had broken in the very first game of the second set with a forehand down the line at 30-40, only for Federer tocorrectly challenge the call and get it overturned. The Swiss went on to hold.

The remainder of the second set was almost academic for Federer, as Soderling’s serve didn’t look as potent a weapon as it had in the first set. A marathon eight and a half minute service game saw Soderling fend off several break points before Federer broke at the perfect time to lead 5-3 and give himself an opportunityto serve out the match.

“Playing against Robin is never easy; he’s a big hitter of the ball so you have to work a lot in the defence. Obviously at times it’s frustrating but I played really well against a player who I thought also was in great shape today so I’m very pleased,” Federer told Sky Sports.

The result not only ensured Federer’s placein the semi-finals it also dumpedSoderling out of the tournament

Round Robin always leaves players and fans alike with plenty of sums to do. As Federer joked after his match: “I didn’t know what it would take to get me to the semi-finals. My feeling tells me I only had to win a set, but I don’t know. Am I right or wrong?!”

Topics: Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Atp World Tour, Break Points, Clean Sweep, Costly Error, David Ferrer, Decisive Factor, finalshowdown, First Game, Floater, Forehand, Grand Slam Champion, Lucky Day, Perfect Time, Pivotal Moment, Rafael Nadal, Robin Soderling, Roger Federer, Service Game, Sky Sports, Split Second, Sports, Sports Personality, Tennis, Third Game, Tiebreak, Wimbledon