Kei Nishikori Beats Tomas Berdych at ATP World Tour Finals

“This is all part of the sport”. And that’s Novak. And in this pre-cursor to the final I think it will be in straight sets.

“He’s far from gone”.

Federer beat Djokovic 7-5, 6-2 to end the Serbian’s 38-match indoor winning streak.

In the first set, Federer converted his second set point with a delicate backhand drop over the net that had the six-time champion’s numerous fans on their feet celebrating. Then winning the first set clearly in a match like this gives you the upper hand. However, Djokovic won a long rally to stay in the contest.

Although Federer initially let his opponent back in with two loose forehands in the next game, Djokovic was soon broken again and there was to be no way back.

Federer routed Djokovic in a 77-minute match on Tuesday, prompting Djokovic to give what appeared to be an honest assessment of the beatdown. By contrast, every one of Djokovic’s uncharacteristic 22 unforced errors in the course of the match were rather uncharitably cheered to the rooftops.

On a day with Federer on his physical, brutal best, Djokovic returned second best. The unforced errors were starting to flow from Djokovic’s racket and Federer took full advantage to leave him within a game of victory.

Federer led 2-1 in the second set after a quick exchange of breaks and broke for a 4-2 lead with a shot that clipped the net.

Although Berdych is one of the most powerful players on tour, even he is struggling to hit through this court. “I have to accept it. On a court that was much slower than Cincinnati and the US Open, I allowed him to dictate play from the baseline”. That shows me that I didn’t expect this victory. The No. 1 spoke of his deep feelings on the issue after starting the World Tour Finals with a 6-1, 6-1 group defeat of Japan’s Kei Nishikori. He must beat Djokovic in his final group match tomorrow to have any chance of making the last four. A second defeat for Berdych left his semi-final hopes hanging by a thread. His last loss at the O2 was in 2011.

Stefan Edberg saw his man, Roger Federer, stun Novak Djokovic and then said the two players are part of the greatest generation tennis has ever seen. Last shot, I went for it, closed my eyes. “[It] was a little bit lucky I made that shot”, he said.

It might seem unjust considering his glittering season – Djokovic fell to 79-6 – but he could be eliminated in the group stage on Thursday when he faces Tomas Berdych.

“We always make each other play our best tennis”, Djokovic concurs.

“He’s just not going away”, said Djokovic. “Roger is a great guy and it is pleasure for me to be around him”.