Roger Federer clinched a spot in the semi-finals of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Saturday afternoon.
The sixth seed and six-time former champion battled back from a 0-3 deficit in the third set to beat fourth seed and 2009 runner-up Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 to finish in second position in Group B for a clash against top seed and 2010 finalist Rafael Nadal on Sunday.
Nadal leads Federer 21-10 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series and has won their past three matches at the BNP Paribas Masters in Indian Wells, the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, all this year.
Federer improved to a 45-16 match record on the season and has now qualified for the semi-finals at the prestigious event in 11 of the past 12 years (except 2008). He has a 4-0 mark against Nadal at the season finale, including two wins each at Shanghai and London.
Before proceedings resumed at the O2 Arena, Roger's next opponent - Rafa Nadal was crowned year-end World No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and also received the ATP World Tour Comeback Player of the Year award in a special ceremony.
As winner of Comeback Player of the Year, Nadal became the first to clinch awards in all the player-voted categories. The 27-year-old Spaniard won Newcomer in 2003, Most Improved in 2005 and Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship in 2010. He was also awarded as the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian in 2011 and claimed ATP World Tour No. 1 presented by Emirates for a third time (also 2008, 2010).
After an enforced seven-month lay-off due to a career-threatening left knee injury, Nadal has returned in spectacular style this season, winning 10 tour-level titles. The Spaniard is through to the semi-finals of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals after going 3-0 in Group A and is looking to win the season finale for the first time this week.
“One year ago, if you had told me I would have come back to be here... it's been an amazing year,” said Nadal, who has won five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophies and two Grand Slams. “I can just thank my family. Without their support, this wouldn't have been possible.”
“It's been a very emotional year and ending here with so much support at The O2. It's fantastic after what happened last year.
“I never had the feeling [that I am the best player in the world]. Being No. 1 is one of the most difficult things to do in our sport. You have to play well from the beginning to the end and there are lot of fantastic players. For most of this year, I played the best tennis of my career. It was a big surprise for me and I'm very happy.”
Federer improved to a 45-16 match record on the season and has now qualified for the semi-finals at the prestigious event in 11 of the past 12 years (except 2008). He has a 4-0 mark against Nadal at the season finale, including two wins each at Shanghai and London.
As winner of Comeback Player of the Year, Nadal became the first to clinch awards in all the player-voted categories. The 27-year-old Spaniard won Newcomer in 2003, Most Improved in 2005 and Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship in 2010. He was also awarded as the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian in 2011 and claimed ATP World Tour No. 1 presented by Emirates for a third time (also 2008, 2010).
After an enforced seven-month lay-off due to a career-threatening left knee injury, Nadal has returned in spectacular style this season, winning 10 tour-level titles. The Spaniard is through to the semi-finals of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals after going 3-0 in Group A and is looking to win the season finale for the first time this week.
“One year ago, if you had told me I would have come back to be here... it's been an amazing year,” said Nadal, who has won five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophies and two Grand Slams. “I can just thank my family. Without their support, this wouldn't have been possible.”
“It's been a very emotional year and ending here with so much support at The O2. It's fantastic after what happened last year.
“I never had the feeling [that I am the best player in the world]. Being No. 1 is one of the most difficult things to do in our sport. You have to play well from the beginning to the end and there are lot of fantastic players. For most of this year, I played the best tennis of my career. It was a big surprise for me and I'm very happy.”
No comments:
Post a Comment