Roger Federer Wins in London • He Beats “The Kid” • Great Tennis • Buy Tickets

Roger Federer (R) of Switzerland is congratulated by Alexander Zverev (L) of Germany after winning their round robin match of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London, Britain, 14 November 2017. EPA-EFE/WILL OLIVER

 

 

Federer first into London semifinals, Harrison and Venus also clinch Saturday spot

 

By Ricky Dimon

 

How fast is Roger Federer? Faster than Jimmy John’s. And fast enough to clinch a spot in the semis of the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals after just three days of competition.

 

Federer improved to 2-0 in Group A and punched a ticket to semifinal Saturday when he held off Alexander Zverev 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-1 on Tuesday night. Zverev had plenty of a chances, including a 4-0 lead in the first-set tiebreaker. Federer, however, won eight of the next 10 points to steal the opening set.

 

The 36-year-old Swiss also finished the night with nine of 11 break points saved.

 

“I think it was a tough match for both of us,” Federer commented. “We had some good moments; some tougher moments. I mean, he blew the first-set tiebreak. (I) got lucky to get into it maybe. (Then) I was up a set and a break, so I was frustrated that I didn’t win the second set. At the end, probably being in the third set for both of us was maybe a fair result. I’m not sure.”

 

What is sure is that Federer has won Group B and will face whoever finishes second in Group B during semifinal action on Saturday. Zverev, meanwhile, will go up against Jack Sock on Thursday in what is basically a quarterfinal contest.

 

“I still have great chances of qualifying, playing Sock next,” the 20-year-old said. “I think if I continue having this level, I don’t know, maybe you’ll see me on the weekend.”

 

The London faithful will definitely be seeing Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus in the doubles semifinals this weekend. Harrison and Venus, the last-seeded team at the World Tour Finals, clinched their group when they improved to 2-0 with a 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-5 victory over Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. The American-Kiwi duo had previously defeated defending champions Henri Kontinen and John Peers.

 

Kontinen and Peers will battle Herbert and Mahut on Thursday for a spot in the semis. Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau have been eliminated.

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.