Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer set up a fitting finale to 2015

A year after the final that never was, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will play off for the trophy at the ATP World Tour Finals.

“He was better than me and he deserved to do what he did during the whole season”, a magnanimous Nadal said.

As four of the world’s top five men contested the semi-finals of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals here yesterday, one player was conspicuous by his absence. “I think he also likes playing me because he has a variety in his game with the slice, he comes to the net”.

Federer held at love to seal the match in 71 minutes as a Wawrinka backhand sailed long, setting up a dream final between the two players who have ruled tennis in the second half of 2015. There is a lot at stake.

But, for once in a year where he has been utterly dominant, Djokovic wobbled a little in his final two group matches at the O2 Arena. There are days when you don’t feel great, when you have to find a way to win.

“For me it’s an advantage because I guess it gives me a bit of confidence”, said Federer. Federer is gunning for a record 7 title, while Djokovic is aiming for a 4 consecutive title.

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.

The 34-year-old six-times champion fell 4-2 behind in the opening set but rattled off four consecutive games to move ahead and cruised through the second set with smooth efficiency.

He added: “It matters because we can both look back on it and see what we could have done differently, for the good or the bad”. The Serbian broke again in the ninth game to close out the match.

Before Federer and Wawrinka got under way on Saturday, umpire Ali Nilli had joked, “Let’s make this a good clean fight”.

Djokovic, who would have claimed a rare calendar-year grand slam this season but for a French Open final defeat by Wawrinka, suffered a first indoor defeat in 3-1/2 years against Federer this week, going down in straight sets.

Djokovic’s serving was sublime: 90% at first attempt.

He responded by beating Czech Tomas Berdych to secure a semi-final berth in London and was back at full throttle against Nadal, crunching 24 winners and dropping just three points on his first serve. “I don’t feel unbeatable”, said Djokovic, “but it does definitely feel great when I’m playing the way I played today”. I have to play my best if I want to have any chance, that’s what I’m gonna try. He still bested him at Wimbledon and in NY.

The 28-year-old said: “After 46 matches and 10 years of professional tennis, I managed to tie my head-to-head score with Nadal. Winning those two grand slams against the best player in history was something that stands out as the achievement of the year”.

There are ways of damning with faint praise, and Djokovic knows a lot of them.