ATP World Tour Finals 2017 Results: Roger Federer and Jack Sock Win on Thursday
Roger Federer had to work hard to preserve his perfect record at the ATP Tour Finals on Thursday, as he recovered from a set down to beat Marin Cilic 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1.
It was the Croatian who edged through in a tight first set, though Federer found his best at the end of another even stanza to level the match up. It was momentum he carried into the decider, as the top seed quickly put distance between himself and Cilic to win the contest.
The second match of the day was essentially a quarter-final between Jack Sock and Alexander Zverev, and it was the former who eventually came through 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in an entertaining encounter. Sock will meet Grigor Dimitrov in his semi-final.
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Read on for the latest results from London, a reminder of the matches to come and a recap of the action from Thursday.
Thursday Matches
Roger Federer bt. Marin Cilic: 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1
Jack Sock bt. Alexander Zverev: 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
Friday Schedule
Dominic Thiem vs. David Goffin
Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Grigor Dimitrov
Thursday Recap
Though this match was a dead rubber after two wins for Federer and two losses for Cilic, these two titans of the tennis court have produced intriguing clashes in the past. This one proved to be well worth a watch, too.
In the first set, Cilic did well to stay with the world No. 1, serving astutely and giving himself a few half-chances on the Federer serve. Both men were eventually too good with the ball in hand, and the opening stanza was settled by a tiebreak.
Having led 4-1 in it, Cilic was pulled back to 4-4 by Federer. The Croat then produced a brilliant volley to go 6-5 in front and rattled a forehand away on the next point to take the set, per Tennis TV:
The second set followed a similar pattern, with neither man looking likely to break the serve of the other for long spells. And at 5-4 to Federer on serve, another tiebreak appeared to be in the offing.
But the 19-time Grand Slam champion has frequently shone in these clutch moments throughout his career, and with Cilic under pressure on his serve, the latter cracked. It was the first break of the match and a massive boost to the Swiss.
As noted by the ATP Media Info Twitter account, the veteran is often the stronger player in these types of situations:
Indeed, at the start of the decider, Federer swarmed over a jaded-looking Cilic, taking the first game on serve and then breaking for the second time in a row in the next game. Suddenly, the Croatian didn't look like a man who wanted to be across the court from the top seed.
And so it transpired, as errors started to creep more and more into Cilic's game, allowing Federer to move through the gears. Eventually, a 6-1 scoreline was a fair reflection of a lopsided final set.
While Federer always commands a massive amount of attention, the big match of the day was between Zverev and Sock, with a place in the semis on the line. It didn’t disappoint either.
It was Sock who looked the more comfortable in this crunch contest early on, as he was able to apply some pressure to his opponent's serve. Eventually, in the seventh game of the opening set the American did break to get an advantage.
In the next game he saved three break points to move 5-3 ahead and eventually saw out the opener 6-4.
Tennis journalist Jose Morgado was impressed:
But Zverev is too talented a player not to have a spell in the contest and he produced some sparkling stuff in the second stanza. Sock had no answer early on, as the German motored to the first four games.
Sock did get on the board, though he appeared to give up on the set pretty quickly, allowing Zverev to coast to a 6-1 scoreline.
As we can see, by this point the 20-year-old was pumped up:
He was at the start of the final set, too, as another break of serve gave him an early advantage. However, one of Zverev’s sloppiest games of the competition was punished ruthlessly by Sock, who restored parity.
It was a crucial momentum shift, as Sock held and then broke Zverev again, who suddenly appeared to be feeling the effects of the massive effort he put into the second set. Sock moved 4-1 ahead and to within touching distance of the semis.
But Zverev continued to dig deep, holding in his next game before pressuring Sock into a break. Another hold and the contest was back on a knife edge at 4-4.
Despite this, Sock was able to keep his composure and got a big hold of serve on the board to stem Zverev's impetus. Then, when a match point came in the next game, he seized it to finally break Zverev's resistance.
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