Roger Federer made the most of Kei Nishikori’s erratic play Tuesday to secure a 6-3, 6-2 victory and move closer to a semifinal spot at the ATP Finals.
Federer, the most successful player at the year-end tournament with six wins, will progress from Group B if Milos Raonic defeats Andy Murray later Tuesday.
The 17-Grand Slam champion will also advance if Murray wins in three sets. Nishikori made it easy on Federer as he struggled with consistency throughout.
The U.S. Open finalist showed his vast array of shots with some superb backhand winners but made too many mistakes and struggled with his serve.
Federer broke for a 3-1 lead in the second set and then held before Nishikori called for a medical timeout and dropped his serve twice.
Djokovic starts off easy
Two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic extended his indoor winning streak with an impressive 6-1, 6-1 wins over Marin Cilic Monday in his opening round-robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals, after Stan Wawrinka put his recent struggles behind him with an equally comfortable victory.
Djokovic moved two wins away from sealing the year-end No. 1 spot, and improved his record against the U.S. Open champion to 11-0 with a dominant display that lasted only 56 minutes.
The O2 Arena crowd was treated to several stunning rallies in the opening stages, with Djokovic coming out on top on every important point. The top-ranked Serb has now won his last 28 matches indoors, a streak going back more than two years.
“I give myself a lot of time to prepare for these events, for indoor tournaments. I enjoy them,” Djokovic said.
“Considering how long the season is, everybody is mentally, physically, emotionally tired and exhausted. But this is where you have to find your last drop of strength and motivation to finish off the year in style.”
The top-ranked Serb will next take on Wawrinka, who made the most of Tomas Berdych’s error-laced performance in a 6-1, 6-1 win earlier on Monday. Djokovic read Cilic’s serve well and broke at love for a 4-1 lead after hitting two sumptuous forehand passing shots, then clinched the set after Cilic buried a backhand in the net.
After dropping his serve immediately at the start of the second set, Cilic broke back to stay in the match but his resurgence was short-lived as Djokovic won the next four games.
“From my own side, it’s my first time being here,” said Cilic, one of the three debutants in london. “Also, I felt that Novak played really, really solid today. In some matches, the score just keeps running. You are thinking a lot. You are always trying to find something. But whatever you try, it’s not working.”
Djokovic, who is bidding to finish the season as No. 1 for the third time, will be guaranteed the top spot if he wins his remaining two round-robin matches against Wawrinka and Berdych.