ATP World Tour Finals 2014 Results: Day 3 Scores, Highlights and Recap
Roger Federer took a commanding lead in Group B on Tuesday with a routine win over Kei Nishikori, beating his Japanese opponent 6-3, 6-2 as he moves to 2-0 in his quest for the 2014 ATP World Tour Finals title.
The six-time champion needed little over an hour to secure his second win of the tournament, putting himself in excellent position to qualify for the semi-final.
Andy Murray had to battle hard in the second set to keep his hopes for a shot at the title alive, beating Milos Raonic 6-3, 7-5.
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Here's a look at Tuesday's full results:
| Roger Federer defeats Kei Nishikori | 6-3, 6-2 |
| Andy Murray defeats Milos Raonic | 6-3, 7-5 |
| Julien Benneteau and Eduoard Roger-Vasselin defeat Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic | 6-4, 5-7, 10-4 |
| Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo defeat Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez | 7-6, 7-6 |
All statistics courtesy of Protennislive.com.
Murray Survives Against Raonic
Murray appeared to be cruising to an easy win after a dominant first set before Raonic rediscovered his serve in the second, and after a hard-fought number of games, Murray stepped up the pace at just the right time to get past his Canadian opponent 6-3, 7-5. BBC Sport had the final result:
The big-hitting Raonic struggled with his serve in the first set, converting just 37 percent of his first-serve attempts. With his biggest weapon not working, Murray took full advantage.
The Scot started applying more pressure in the return game and quickly ran out to a 5-2 lead, leaving his Canadian opponent very frustrated:
Things were clicking for Murray at that point, quickly moving up a break in the early set. As the duo sat down, Raonic tried to fire himself up one more time, and remarkably enough it worked.
The Canadian started taking risks and managed to bring his serve under control, pushing his first-serve percentage over 65 and finally winning some consistent points. It was Murray's turn to struggle now, surrendering his first break point and watching his winners on the second serves plummet. Fans like One Direction's Liam Payne even noticed he was struggling:
The duo went back and forth, refusing to give an inch in their service games. With Raonic serving first, the pressure was on the Scot to step up every single time. The Sun's Dan King wondered how much the heavy end-of-season schedule would weigh on him:
BBC Sport's Piers Newbery didn't like what he was seeing from Murray, who received a lot of help from Raonic:
Indeed, tied at 5-5 Raonic buckled, and Murray produced two magic passing shots at just the right time to grab a pivotal break and set himself up to serve for the match.
Fittingly, Raonic gifted Murray the match with an unforced error, knocking himself out of the tournament in the process.
Raonic will play Nishikori next, while Murray faces off against Federer, who secured a spot in the semi-final thanks to Murray's win.
Federer Waltzes Past Nishikori
Federer improved to 2-0 in Group B with another simple win, this time over Nishikori. The 24-year-old U.S. Open finalist shocked Murray in their opening match, but he couldn't produce the same consistency on Tuesday.
Sky Sports shared the final score:
Nishikori hit a total of 30 unforced errors and had five double faults in two short sets, numbers that will almost automatically lead to a loss. While he did come away with some impressive shots, Federer easily handled the match from start to finish.
The Swiss had a scary moment early in the match, surrendering two break chances in the second game, but his serve started clicking soon after, to the tune of seven aces.
ESPNTennis believed he hardly had to break a sweat:
"GSM Roger Federer 6/3 6/2. Not really pushed today after fighting off those 2 break points in the 3rd game. Well placed for the semi's. -DC
— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) November 11, 2014"
Nishikori struggled with his serve for the second straight match, but his excellent ability from the baseline as a pure stroker saved him against Murray. He couldn't rekindle the magic against Federer, something the Swiss star also noticed, as he told The Associated Press' Samuel Petrequin:
"He's shown in the past when he gets the upper hand against any player from the baseline, he's very difficult to beat. Today for some reason he couldn't get it done. Maybe I was playing too well (...). But I know that Kei can play better. So for me it was really important to take advantage of the fact that I was feeling really good, and then maybe he was struggling a little bit today.
"
Federer is one of the best at taking control of rallies from the baseline, and with Nishikori's backhand abandoning him, the world No. 2 aimed most of his shots in that direction.
Nishikori may have struggled, but Federer looked as good as ever and should receive full credit for this win. Bet365 believes his current form could guide him to another Finals win and the No. 1 ranking at the end of the season:
Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka looked very impressive in their opening matches, so even after two convincing performances, it's too early to anoint Federer as favourite.
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