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.

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The Surreal World

The Surreal World

Yet Federer himself added the twist that enabled him to win so convincingly: A relentless opportunism that had him attacking Murray and moving forward to the net at every chance. For some reason, this seemed to catch Murray by surprise, and the Scot’s lackluster play aided and abetted his demise. But the match also highlighted one of the big-picture weaknesses in Murray’s game.

Murray plays superb defense, and his galloping gait enables him to swallow large chunks of well-lit real estate with ease. But he is most comfortable playing from far enough back off the baseline to be vulnerable to the short ball, as well as the acutely angled ball. Federer did an excellent job playing a game long on chipping and charging, the use of backhand slice, and a willingness to step around the backhand to open the court with wicked inside-out forehands. This was an exaggerated demonstration of how to handcuff and frustrate a defensive baseliner, and Murray’s poor form on the day made it an easy tutorial to absorb.

The question that leaves hanging is whether or not Federer, should he meet top-seeded Djokovic down the line, can exploit that defensive genius in quite the same way. The obvious answer is that if the No. 2 seed plays as he did today—and Djokovic sings off key—anything is possible.

But let’s be realistic here. Djokovic is on a 29-match indoor winning streak. He’s played superb tennis thus far in London, breaking his opponent’s serves more often than they can hold them. He’s won all four sets he’s played thus far; nobody else in Group A has won more than two. And he can avoid some uneasy moments in the coming days should he handle Tomas Berdych in tomorrow’s final day of round-robin play. Doing so would ensure that Djokovic finishes the year at No. 1, which is an even greater honor than winning this event.

Berdych hasn’t beaten Djokovic on any surface other than clay since 2010. Djokovic holds a commanding, 16-2 lead in their rivalry. Yet Berdych has built a solid reputation as a spoiler, a player who’s capable of stepping up to ruin any scenario that we’re brazen enough to take for granted. He’s a straight-ahead, hit-or-miss player, so it would be a mistake to read too much into the beating Wawrinka subjected him in the first round of play.

Djokovic has been hearing Federer’s footsteps all autumn, as the chance that Federer might actually overtake him and thereby become the oldest year-end No. 1 in the history of the rankings has become tenable. The way Federer played today will only make those footsteps ring louder in Djokovic’s ears, so it will be interesting to see how he reacts to the opportunity to silence that noise once and for all tomorrow afternoon.

This has been a tournament without a single match that has been close as well as meaningful, but that doesn’t mean it has been without drama—with perhaps more of it to come.