DJOKOVIC AVENGES LOSS TO FEDERER, WINS WORLD TOUR FINALS FOR FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW

Written by: on 22nd November 2015
ATP Tour tennis final
DJOKOVIC AVENGES LOSS TO FEDERER, WINS WORLD TOUR FINALS FOR FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW

epa05037722 Serbia's Novak Djokovic lifts the ATP Tour Finals trophy following his two sets win over Switzerland's Roger Federer at the ATP Tour tennis finals tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 22 November 2015. EPA/ANDY RAIN  |

Djokovic avenges loss to Federer, wins World Tour Finals for fourth year in a row

 

by Ricky Dimon

Novak Djokovic won the World Tour Finals for a fourth year in a row on Sunday evening, beating Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 for the title. The Serb had to work much harder after getting a walkover from Federer in the 2014 final, but he still cruised in just one hour and 20 minutes.

 

In their previous matchup this week, a 7-5, 6-2 win for Federer during round-robin action, the 34-year-old had broken Djokovic four times in 10 return games. For a fleeting moment it looked like Federer would make similar headway against Djokovic’s serve in this one. The Swiss, who saved a break point in the opening game, got a look at a break point for a 2-0 advantage but could not convert.

 

Federer promptly dropped serve at 1-1 but earned another break chance in his second return game. Another error cast the opportunity aside, much to the chagrin of a pro-Federer O2 crowd. Djokovic added another break of his own for good measure to wrap up the set in convincing 6-3 style.

Switzerland’s Roger Federer returns to Serbia’s Novak Djokovic during the singles final match at the ATP Tour tennis finals tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 22 November 2015. EPA/ANDY RAIN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With momentum in hand, the top seed buckled down in his service games the rest of the way. He surrendered a mere six service points in the entire second set.

 

Drama in the showdown reached a high point when Federer found himself serving at 3-4, 0-40. The world No. 3 erased all three break points and held by reeling off five consecutive points with a flurry of big serves and groundstrokes.

 

But another routine hold for Djokovic quickly put the pressure right back on Federer and this time the 17-time major champion could not withstand it. Federer fought off one match point with a gutsy second serve at 15-40 only to double-fault and hand Djokovic the title.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic returns to Switzerland’s Roger Federer during the singles final match at the ATP Tour tennis finals tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 22 November 2015. EPA/ANDY RAIN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amazingly enough, in the span of two days Djokovic leveled his lifetime head-to-head series against both Federer and Rafael Nadal. Prior to tying his score with Federer at 22-22, the reigning Australian Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open champion drew even with Nadal at 23-23.

 

“It’s been an incredible season,” who unbelievably reached the final in every tournament he played except the opening one in Doha. “Obviously sitting here with this trophy alongside me, I couldn’t ask for a better finish of the season. The last four years I managed to win the World Tour Finals, where the best players in the world are playing.”

 

“It would have been nice to serve a little bit better early on in the match, play better overall on his second serve, because he does allow you to play on his second serve,” Federer explained. Maybe at times I went for too much. The moments where I should have gone safe, I didn’t, and vice versa. Those are the two regrets I have.

 

“But I thought he played well. High-quality match, I thought.”

 

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

 

Topics: , , , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.