FEDERER SAVES FOUR MATCH POINTS TO GET PAST WAWRINKA, SETS UP LONDON FINAL SHOWDOWN VS. DJOKOVIC BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 15th November 2014

FEDERER SAVES FOUR MATCH POINTS TO GET PAST WAWRINKA, SETS UP LONDON FINAL SHOWDOWN VS. DJOKOVIC BY RICKY DIMON

epa04491546 Switzerland's Roger Federer reacts foliowing his three set win over compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka during the ATP World Tour Finals semi-final match at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 15 November 2014. |

It will be Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer in the World Tour Finals championship match, but not before some serious drama took place on Saturday at the O2.

After Novak Djokovic held off Kei Nishikori 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 in the first semifinal, the nightcap saw Federer survive four match points to outlast Swiss Davis Cup teammate Stan Wawrinka 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(6). Wawrinka served for the match at 5-4 in the third and had three match points, then got a look at one last match point on his opponent’s serve in the tiebreaker before ultimately succumbing after two hours and 48 minutes.

It is the longest match of the tournament by 53 minutes, far surpassing Nishikori’s three-set win over David Ferrer on Thursday.

Wawrinka had countless opportunities to win, perhaps even in straight sets, but he struggled while in positions of command. The trend started with Wawrinka’s first donation of serve at 5-2 in the first set. He managed to close it out at 5-4 despite serving at a horrendous 37 percent during the opener.

Switzerland’s Stanislav Wawrinka returns to Switzerland’s Roger Federer during the ATP World Tour Finals semi final match at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 15 November 2014. EPA/ANDY RAIN

At 5-6 in the second, an easy overhead dumped in the net contributed to Wawrinka getting broken at love, thus sending the showdown to a final set. Despite the hiccup, Wawrinka regained control with an immediate break for 1-0. He consolidated it all the way until 5-3, even though he missed nine of his first 10 serves in the eighth game of the set. The world No. 4 finally cracked at 5-4, watching three match points go by the wayside on two forehand passes by Federer and his own botched backhand volley in the net. A Federer hold from 0-30 down followed by a routine hold for Wawrinka extended the thriller to a ‘breaker.

That’s when Federer finally started playing aggressive tennis. The six-time titlist at the year-end championship still had to save one more match point, which he did with a big serve at 5-6, then clinched victory with consecutive forehand volley winners.

“Tough match like that,” Wawrinka lamented. “I think there’s only few points that make the difference. I was playing great tennis. Really happy with the way I was playing. But I had [a] big opportunity in the third set. I should have [taken] it, especially serving for the match. When you play Roger, it’s never easy for me, for [anybody]. He’s been in that situation so many times.

Switzerland’s Roger Federer reacts after winning a point during his match with Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka during the ATP World Tour Finals semi final match at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 15 November 2014. EPA/ANDY RAIN

“I thought it was a very exciting match, to say the least,” said Federer. “I think the crowd got really into it. I mean, I really didn’t think I was going to turn it around anymore because Stan looked very good for a long time. I was very impressed by his shot‑making again, his capabilities of playing forward. I think if he would have served a little bit better today he would have won.

“I clearly got lucky tonight. There’s no doubt about that. But you’ve got to keep believing that maybe there is a slight chance that you are going to be able to turn it around somehow. It happened today.”

Federer has now defeated Wawrinka 15 times in 17 tries. The story against Djokovic, of course, is a much different one. An extensive history has so far resulted in a 19-17 head-to-head series lead for Federer, who recently beat the world No. 1 6-4, 6-4 in the Shanghai semifinals.

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

Topics: ATP Finals, Barclays World Tour, London, Rf, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

November 15, 2014 at 7:20 pm

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November 15, 2014 at 7:21 pm

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November 15, 2014 at 7:26 pm

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November 15, 2014 at 11:33 pm

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