Scene of the match: When Novak Djokovic dropped the last ball into the net, Roger Federer shouted his joy at the Serb. The Swiss clenched his fist, then ran quickly towards his opponent and shook his hand. Djokovic reacted coolly, made no move and accepted his defeat. Moments later, he was already in the cabin.
SWEET REDEMPTION FOR ROGER! @Rogerfederer has defeated Novak Djokovic and has made the #NittoATPFinals semis!
: @TennisTV pic.twitter.com/rOBZ7Dlf5k
The result: In the third group match at the ATP Finals in London Federer won 6: 4, 6: 3 against Djokovic and moves into the semifinals - for the 16th time in his 17th participation.
Series closed: Since November 2015 Federer had not won a game against Djokovic. At that time the Swiss also defeated the Serbs in the group match of the ATP Finals 7: 5, 6: 2. The 2015 final lost Federer then again against Djokovic - and remained until today without victory against the current number two in the world. "I just could not be happier," Federer said now, "I enjoyed it and played incredibly."
The first sentence: It started a balanced, exciting match between two top players - at least if you wanted to judge after the first game. At 40:40 the two stars fought for the first lead, after seven minutes the point went to Djokovic. But that hardly mattered to the game. Federer later made the first break for a 2-1 lead. Djokovic could not make up for that - also because he made too many mistakes. A total of 19 unforced errors committed him throughout the game, far too many for his level.
The serve: Federer played in his serve games enormously strong, only three points he gave in the first set, if he had the ball in hand. Overall, the Swiss struck twelve aces. In contrast, Djokovic found the entire game over no means.
Reuters / Tony OBrien
Novak Djokovic resigned
The final: The next set began as the first with a close game - again with the better end for Djokovic. And in fact, it seemed as if the 32-year-old could start a recovery. 48 minutes were played when it was first time 40:40 at serve Federer. Djokovic was close to the break, but that prevented Federer. It was the key moment of the game. After the 38-year-old succeeded the break, he gave the lead no longer ago. After 1:13 hours, he turned his first match ball.
Cold Djoker: Djokovic seemed to be emotionless throughout the game. There was no anger or frustration on his face, and he suffered the defeat in the last few games. After two defeats and a win, Djokovic dropped out of the ATP finals and will not finish the year as the world ranking first. The honor is part of Rafael Nadal. Nonetheless, Djokovic can look forward to winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2019.
What's next? Roger Federer is at the latest after this dominant performance to the favorites to win in London. In the semi-final next to him still group opponents Dominic Thiem and from the second group Stefanos Tsitsipas. Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev fight for last place in the top four on Friday. Zverev plays against Daniil Medvedev, Nadal against Tsitsipas.
