LONDON, November 14, 2017
Roger Federer clinched his second win at this year’s Nitto ATP Finals by defeating German young gun Alexander Zverev 7-6, 5-7, 6-1 on Tuesday night.
The World No. 2 was solid on his serve, winning 83 per cent of the first service points, showed a lot of variety in his shots and broke his opponent four times to secure victory in two hours and 12 minutes.
“I think I was able to stay the course and use my slice quite effectively, then try with variation to go into his forehand,” Federer told about the key to success.
Now, after a 2-0 start in London, the 36-year-old from Switzerland is into the stage of the final four for the 14th time in his 15th appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals.
“I’m extremely happy… It’s been a tough group so to be there in two matches is great,” Federer said. “But today was difficult. Still early days in the tournament. It was nice to be able to show maybe that quality of mine, that I can dig out these matches, these points time and time again, stay mentally tough. In the third I started to play better. It was a tough match from the beginning till the end.”
Sock Picks Up First Win At Nitto ATP Finals
Jack Sock gained his first win at the Nitto ATP Finals in London. The eighth seed rallied past Marin Cilic of Croatia 5-7, 6-2, 7-6. Sock withstood 13 aces, hitting nine of his own to prevail after two hours and 28 minutes.
“I think if I do the right things and I play the right tennis, I can give myself a chance to play on the weekend of any tournament. I think I’ve showed that more this year,” said Sock, who won three ATP World Tour titles this season, including the Rolex Paris Masters earlier this month. He has also become the first US-American to win a match at the Nitto ATP Finals since Andy Roddick 10 years ago today in Shanghai.
The winner of Thursday’s final group stage match between Sock and Zverev will join Federer in the semi-finals. The pair is tied 1-1 in their head-to-head rivalry.
