ATP World Tour Finals 2015 Results: Saturday Tennis Scores and Updated Schedule
Roger Federer kept his unbeaten streak at the ATP World Tour Finals 2015 alive with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Stan Wawrinka on Saturday, setting up a rematch with Novak Djokovic in the final.
Wawrinka and Federer served up a sloppy match of tennis filled with plenty of mistakes, but the veteran managed keep his composure at key times and grab a relatively comfortable win.
Djokovic cruised to an easy win over Rafael Nadal, booking his spot in the final. Here's a look at the full results and schedule:
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| Saturday, Nov. 21 | Novak Djokovic (1) | 6-3, 6-3 | Rafael Nadal (5) |
| Saturday, Nov. 21 | Roger Federer (3) | 7-5, 6-3 | Stan Wawrinka (4) |
| Sunday, Nov. 22 | Novak Djokovic (1) | TBD | Roger Federer (3) |
Federer Beats Wawrinka, Qualifies for Final
Federer started the match very aggressively, winning three of his first four points at the net. Wawrinka gladly responded to the challenge, with both men winning their first serve games without conceding a point, but fans expecting a top-level match of exquisite tennis were in for a rude surprise.
Sloppy mistakes and poor shots started to creep into both men's games, with Federer even double-faulting to ha d Wawrinka his first break chance. Tennis writer Ricky Dimon noted how quickly his game seemed to fall apart:
Wawrinka looked a little stronger from the base line and took full advantage of Federer's struggles, grabbing the first break of the match in the fifth game. Record's Jose Morgado was far from impressed with FedExpress:
The veteran had to chase Wawrinka's serves all over the court and couldn't find an answer, and in the rallies, Wawrinka clearly held the advantage. The power he puts in his forehands remains an impressive sight, and on a slow court like the one in the O2 Arena, it can be a massive weapon.
But he too struggled with his serve at times, and similar to the fifth game, he handed Federer an opportunity to break back by hitting a double fault. The veteran gladly took the gift to level things at 4-4.
The break seemed to hand Federer the confidence he needed to trade with Wawrinka from the base line, and up 6-5, he hit a phenomenal winner across the court to hand himself two set points.
Wawrinka tried to counter by advancing to the net but missed with his volley, bringing an end to a sloppy first set.
Here's the winner, courtesy of Sky Sports Tennis:
Another double fault for Federer gave Wawrinka an early chance to break in the second set, but a lucky bounce off the net saw Federer come back to steal the game. He carried that momentum into the second game, taking advantage of some massive struggles from Wawrinka, who seemingly couldn't make a shot.
Federer turned the break into a quick 3-0 lead before Wawrinka rediscovered his form, and by that, it was already too late. FedExpress was more than happy to just serve out the match and set up a rematch with Djokovic in the final.
Djokovic's impressive win streak ended at the hands of Federer in the group stages, but based on what we saw on Saturday, he should get his revenge in the final. The Djoker played arguably his worst match since the summer in that encounter, and don't expect that to happen again.
Djokovic Dominates Nadal
Djokovic suffered his first loss in months at the hands of Federer on Tuesday and was clearly anxious to impress against an in-form Nadal, putting an incredible amount of pressure early on the Spaniard.
After holding his serve in the opening game, he immediately broke Nadal's serve without conceding a point, playing almost perfect tennis. Djokovic's game from the baseline was immaculate, and he showed more aggression in advancing to the net than he did during the group stages as well.
Rolling Stone's Juan Jose Vallejo thought all Nadal could do was damage control:
It took four games for Nadal to get on the scoreboard, but at this point, Djokovic seemed unstoppable. Even on Nadal's serve, the Serb was in full control of every rally, playing some of the best tennis seen all week.
Tennis writer Carole Bouchard was impressed:
Nadal improved as the set wore on, but Djokovic's service game was as good as it gets, with the Serb even facing a break point. He won an incredible 84 per cent of points on his first serve, and with numbers like that, it's barely a surprise he won the first set.
As shared by BBC Tennis, fans have gotten used to Djokovic winning:
Djoker nearly broke Nadal again in the first game of the second set, but this time, his opponent pulled through when he needed to, battling back to keep himself in the match.
Nadal looked stronger from the baseline in that opening game, to the delight of the fans at the O2 Arena, but there was nothing he could do on Djokovic's serve. The World No. 1 was spectacular putting Nadal on the back foot in his serve games, and a break never seemed likely.
Matt Cronin of Tennisreporters.net saw the same thing:
The Spaniard stood firm until the fifth game, when he surrendered two break chances to Djokovic and eventually had to concede the game. Down a break, he tried to come out and take the match to Djoker in the next game, only to find his forehand was still almost automatic.
Djokovic was hardly even trying on Nadal's serve at this point, knowing full well Nadal had no answer for his serve. The closest the Spaniard ever came was in the eighth game, where two great winners put him within two points of a break, before Djokovic fired back and brought himself within one game of the final.
Another break sealed Nadal's fate, sending the Spaniard home and his Serbian opponent on to the final.
Per BBC Sport, Djokovic was nothing short of spectacular, dropping just 10 points across his 12 serve games. The man himself knew he put together a wonderful performance:
"It was a great performance from the very beginning. I was trying to be aggressive and dictate the play, and I managed to pull out my best game when it was needed the most.
We have not changed our games radically since we met the first time. We both play on the baseline, him with more spin, me trying to flatten it out a bit more. It is roughly the same as when we met for the first time.
"
Djokovic and Federer were supposed to meet in last year's final, but Federer pulled out of that match following an injury.
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