ATP World Tour Finals 2014 Results: Day 4 Scores, Highlights and Recap
After a day's rest, the bastions of Group A in the ATP World Tour Finals took to the O2 Arena court on Wednesday, with fans hoping a more competitive edge would rise to the fore.
Tomas Berdych ensured that wasn't the case, though, beating Marin Cilic with a straight-sets victory in the early fixture and making it seven unanswered results from seven thus far in the singles competition.
Novak Djokovic did his part in keeping up the dominant stride, too, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-0 in the evening matchup and continuing his march toward the semi-finals.
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| Tomas Berdych defeats Marin Cilic | 6-3, 6-1 |
| Novak Djokovic defeats Stanislas Wawrinka | 6-3, 6-0 |
| Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan defeat Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau | 6-7, 6-3, 10-6 |
| Lukasz Kubot and Robert Lindstedt defeat Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares | 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 |
Djokovic Rampages Past Wawrinka
It was a stuttered start from Djokovic at the O2 on Wednesday as the reigning ATP World Tour Finals champion slipped to a 2-0 deficit in the first set of his meeting with Wawrinka.
However, as only champions can, the Serbian stormed back with an unrelenting temper in London, as Bet365 noted the ferocity with which he went about claiming his redemption to go 1-0 ahead in sets:
Following his mauling of Berdych on Monday, Wawrinka might have been expected to give Djokovic more of a fight at this hurdle, but there's only so much one can do when facing a tennis typhoon of this grade.
It took the victor little more than an hour to claim his win, and if the first set was to be seen as slightly one-sided, James Masters of the The Sunday Times was even more convinced of Djokovic's godly powers after the second:
BBC Tennis was also forced to admit the hammering, which sees this year's singles record at the ATP World Tour Finals move to eight 2-0 results in all eight encounters:
"Well that was underwhelming. Djokovic takes just over an hour to beat Wawrinka. 6-3 6-0 #bbctennis
— BBC Tennis (@bbctennis) November 12, 2014"
Djokovic was a fiend in all regards, but Wawrinka also contributed his fair share of unforced errors in a match that clearly just wasn't meant to be his.
Speaking after the Wednesday clash, Djokovic was quoted by BBC Sport in saying: "I swung through my shots, and he made a lot of unforced errors. He wasn't close to his best, and I succeeded very well with what I wanted to do."
Djokovic will also count this as some retribution for his defeat to the Swiss at the Australian Open at the start of the year. Wawrinka can still qualify for the semi-finals if he beats Cilic on Friday, while Djokovic has already nailed on for his place in the final quartet.
Berdych Dampens Cilic's Spirits
Cilic may well be counted all but out of this year's ATP World Tour Finals after suffering his second successive defeat of the competition, Berdych surrendering just four games en route to a 6-3, 6-1 triumph.
After his opening defeat to Wawrinka, Berdych was far more assured in his second outing. BBC Sport's Piers Newbery details the Czech's affinity for starting slow in these tournaments before eventually finding more assured footing:
However, as impressive as the victor was, this was perhaps a case of unfair contest. For the second match in a row, Cilic failed to muster much of a threat, now having won just six games in total, losing 24.
Wednesday's opening matchup gave us the seventh 2-0 singles scoreline of the 2014 ATP World Tour Finals thus far. The Daily Mail's Mike Dickson suggests the doubles might make for less one-sided entertainment:
Former British No. 1 Tim Henman was unrelenting in his description of the Croatian's performance, per BBC Sport: "That's two very disappointing matches for Cilic. He is 6 ft 6 ins with a big serve and he has lost four sets and only won six games. He's just not doing the basics right and he won't be a happy man."
As if those criticisms weren't harsh enough, Berdych himself gave a sorry verdict of his defeated foe, per Douglas Robson of USA Today:
Cilic had defeated Berdych at the quarter-final mark of his U.S. Open win earlier this year but made 30 unforced errors Wednesday and struggled to find any momentum.
Berdych rushed matters at points in the first set and allowed his opponent within one game at 4-3, but Cilic was uneasy himself and couldn't capitalise, falling to several well-struck backhands.
The second set was a far more rudimentary affair as Berdych ran nearly unopposed. Cilic appeared drained of confidence in all aspects and is now sure to fall out of contention.
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