ROGER FEDERER PLAYED A LEVEL OF TENNIS THAT WAS SHEER BRILLIANCE , POOR ANDY MURRAY WAS TODAY’S VICTIM

Written by: Staff on 13th November 2014

ROGER FEDERER PLAYED A LEVEL OF TENNIS THAT WAS SHEER BRILLIANCE , POOR ANDY MURRAY WAS TODAY'S VICTIM

epa04488516 Switzerland's Roger Federer returns to Britain's Andy Murray during a round robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals mens tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 13 November 2014. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

Federer masterful in clinching Group B with 6-0, 6-1 victory over Andy Murray

By Ricky Dimon

Roger Federer has produced one masterclass after another at the World Tour Finals. Even with his opponents arguably becoming increasingly more difficult by the match, nothing has changed. Following successive straight-set wins over Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori, the 33-year-old demolished Andy Murray 6-0, 6-1 in just 56 minutes on Thursday night.

By virtue of Nishikori’s three-set victory over David Ferrer earlier in the day, Federer had already been guaranteed of a semifinal spot in London before he even took the court. He played accordingly; loose and freely with no pressure of any kind on his shoulders.The world No. 2 did not make a single first serve in the opening game of the match, but he quickly steadied himself and raced through the first set in 24 minutes.

Britain’s Andy Murray returns to Switzerland’s Roger Federer during a round robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals mens tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 13 November 2014. EPA/ANDY RAIN

Murray went in to this one knowing he had to win in straight sets in order to steal a semifinal place from Nishikori. So when he dropped the opener, his overall destiny in this tournament was sealed. The No. 5 seed maintained an effort, but there was nothing he could do against such an in-form opponent.

“It’s a big opportunity, huge arena, with a very even head‑to‑head,” Federer said when asked if the stakes had diminished after both players’ fates were sealed. “We’ve had tough matches in the past. It’s a match you don’t want to lose. That’s why I kept pushing for it and tried to get to the finish line as quick as I could.”

Continuing to demolish returns when he got a look at second serves from Murray, Federer broke twice more to seize a 5-0 advantage in the second. The most drama–by far–of the match came in the form of Murray’s attempt to avoid the dreaded 6-0, 6-0 scoreline. It looked like the sixth-ranked Scot would suffer such a fate for the first time in his career when he fell behind 0-30, but he suddenly won four consecutive points to hold from just about out of nowhere.

Still, of course, Federer closed out the match one game later with little trouble.

“It was not ideal from my side of the court,” assured Murray, who recorded seven winners against 21 unforced errors. “He played exceptionally well, that’s for sure. I mean, I can say I’m disappointed with my level tonight. But if I played well, he probably still would have won anyway.”

Murray was then asked to assess his 0-9 combined record in 2014 against Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal.

Switzerland’s Roger Federer serves to Japan’s Kei Nishikori at the ATP World Tour Finals mens tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 11 November 2014. EPA/ANDY RAIN

“(I’m) quite a long way from that level,” he admitted. “But a lot can change in a matter of weeks and months in tennis. You know, Roger is a good example of that. Obviously last year he was having some struggles and some tough times with his body and whatnot. A lot of questions were asked about him. He’s responded and gone into the last tournament of the year with an opportunity to get to No. 1.”

Federer won all 14 of his first-serve points and garnered 18 of 23 net points, whereas Murray got into net only six times and won three of those points.

“I had the upper hand from the baseline, which hasn’t always happened against him,” the 17-time Grand Slam champion explained. “But I definitely was able to play on my terms. For me, things went very well.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Andy Murray, Atp, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

November 13, 2014 at 4:45 pm

ROGER FEDERER PLAYED A LEVEL OF #TENNIS THAT WAS SHEER BRILLIANCE, POOR @andy_murray WAS TODAY’S VICTIM http://t.co/759CfwAi4N @rogerfederer
quinnydreddiva says:

November 13, 2014 at 4:49 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: ROGER FEDERER PLAYED A LEVEL OF #TENNIS THAT WAS SHEER BRILLIANCE, POOR @andy_murray WAS TODAY’S VICTIM http://t.co/759Cf…