After Novak Djokovic’s comprehensive 6-3, 6-0 defeat of Stan Wawrinka yesterday, Roger Federer fans had plenty of reason to fear for their man’s fate. Today, though, they might be strolling around, chests puffed out, demanding, “Bring us Djokovic!”
You can hardly fault them, not after the way Federer handled Andy Murray on this, the last day of Group B round-robin play. Federer played near flawless tennis and humiliated Murray, 6-0, 6-1. It was such a terrible pasting that Federer, making no effort to disguise his sympathy for Murray, allowed afterward that he was somewhat pleased that he didn’t become the first man in his opponent’s 632 pro matches to beat him without giving up a game.
This match will be remembered as a happening bordering on the surreal. But then, nobody can say that we weren’t adequately warned: The only three-set match thus far at the World Tour Finals was the one played earlier today, and the fellow who finally broke the barrier wasn’t even part of the original, eight-man field—nor one who had any chance to qualify for the upcoming knockout stage. Alternate David Ferrer, forced into the yoke when Milos Raonic pulled out with injury, forced Kei Nishikori to three sets at the O2 Arena. But Nishikori won, creating a formidable scenario for Murray to face this evening.
In order to qualify for the semifinals, Murray would have had to beat Federer in straight sets. That would make Murray the winner of Group B, with Federer second. Any other outcome would allow Federer and Nishikori to advance.
Thus, Murray had all the incentive—but all the pressure as well. Asking him to beat Federer to ensure his survival was one thing; demanding that he do it in straight sets or get gone quite another. Perhaps down deep Murray knew that his odds of survival were slim to none. It was natural to assume that he would pull out the stops and play like a cornered badger, but who would have predicted that Federer would be the one clawing and snapping as if his competitive life depended on it?
The details of this one are not only ugly, but at least one of them is downright bizarre. Both men served poorly: Murray converted just 45 percent of his first-serve chances, but surprisingly, Federer was worse, at 38 percent. On the rare occasions that Federer did get his first serve in, he was a perfect 14-14. Federer built this win on the theory, expressed earlier in the week, that the court was slow enough to favor the player who played most consistently from the baseline.