ROGER FEDERER BEAT STAN WAWRINKA 7-5, 6-3 AT THE WORLD TOUR FINALS IN LONDON, AND MORE TO FOLLOW SOON ON RF / WAWRINKA

Written by: Global Chick on 21st November 2015

ROGER FEDERER BEAT STAN WAWRINKA 7-5, 6-3 AT THE WORLD TOUR FINALS IN LONDON, AND MORE TO FOLLOW SOON ON RF / WAWRINKA

epa05036416 Switzerland's Roger Federer in action against his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka during their semi final match of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London, Britain, 21 November 2015. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

Blessings, Confidence, and Swiss Cheese – Global Chick’s London Tennis Diary

Stan Wawrinka def. Andy Murray 7-6(4) 6-4

Stan Wawrinka rounded off the last group-stage match with a tight win over GB’s great Davis Cup hope (in case you hadn’t heard) in straight sets. It was a better performance again for the Swiss who has got better as the tournament has gone on (well, he probably could not have gotten much worse, if you think back to the first match)!

We think that if anyone ever doubts Murray’s competitive streak, just look at the second set when he first broke Wawrinka as he was serving for the match. Arms raised aloft like a gladiator who finally put paid to the lion showed you that he wanted to compete, but a rash of errors in both sets really let him down.

So much so, he headed back out onto the court to hit more balls but in truth with the situation in Europe still on a knife edge after the terrorist atrocities in Paris earlier this month, we suspect there will be more important things on the minds of the LTA in terms of keeping the teams (and the fans) safe.

Novak Djokovic def. Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-3

Has Djokovic list his dominance? Has Nadal’s noodle gained more confidence? Will they get any more of those lovely stem ginger biscuits for the mornings upstairs in the media centre? All these questions and more come to mind as we settled down to see if a resurgent Nadal would take any advantage of those rare little butterflies of Djokovic’s frailties.

Truth is – there were none on show. From the start jumping out to a 3-0 lead, Djokovic was switched on and focused. Perhaps Nadal was feeling the effects of his grinding match against fellow countryman David Ferrer but his returns lacked impact, as Djokovic pushed and prodded away.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in action against Spain’s Rafael Nadal during their semi final match at the ATP Tour tennis finals tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 21 November 2015. EPA/WILL OLIVER

Nadal just looked too passive, goodness he was even quite quiet by his standards as Djokovic progressed through the first set with just a quick break, and broke the Spaniard twice to make his fourth straight final 6-3 6-3.

As well as closing his press conference wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and looking forward (!) to seeing us all again, he also found the humour in his loss, saying: “He played just fantastic. When somebody’s doing like this, just the only thing I can do is congratulate him and just wish not the best of luck for the next year (smiling).”

Now, which Swiss big-cheese is he likely to meet?

Preview: Roger Federer v Stan Wawrinka

While Wawrinka has improved, Federer has been looking very solid (not to mention a bit whiskery) throughout the tournament. In the hope that him shaving his beard does not have the same Samson-esque effect as Murray’s impromptu mop-chop had in his match against Nadal.

Federer just looks to be just too sharp and driven to allow Wawrinka to snaffle his first non-clay win over the Swiss No. 1. But stranger things have happened, and what did impress us was his solid second serve.

It was telling that at the start of the tournament, Federer’s focus was to ensure at least two wins against Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori, and was pushed by the speedy Japanese player.

Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka returns the ball to his compatriot Roger Federer during their semi final match of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London, Britain, 21 November 2015. EPA/ANDY RAIN

It does again depend on which Wawrinka shows up – This time last year his confidence was low and he picked up steam throughout the tournament, and just as well because after Federer had to withdraw from the final after their epic semi-final, then all the pressure was on Wawrinka to get the Swiss off to a good start against France in the Davis Cup final.

There is no such pressure on him now, but there are inevitable ‘are the Big Four now the Big Five’ now Wawrinka has two Slam titles. He might have improved on that mental fragility that blighted him earlier on in his career, but it has not completely been eradicated – as we saw at the start of the week.

Hopefully we will also be spared some of the histrionics that accompanied the semi-final last year – but our pick is Federer in three.

Topics: Andy Murray, ATP Finals, Barclays Tour Finals, global chick, London, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Sports, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

November 21, 2015 at 2:10 pm

-@rogerfederer Beat @stanwawrinka 7-5, 6-3 At The #WorldTourFinals In London, And More To Follow Soon On RF/Wawrinka
https://t.co/YnMgK2mxi0