Roger Federer was in sublime form as he moved closer to a place in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Andy Murray at London's O2 Arena last night
Roger Federer was in sublime form as he moved closer to a place in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Andy Murray at London's O2 Arena last night.
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| Roger Federer celebrates after beating Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2 in the World Tour Finals. PIC/AFP |
Federer had lost his last two meetings with Murray and has never been completely comfortable when facing the British No 1, but the Swiss star was at his best as he romped to his second successive Group B victory in the prestigious end-of-year event.
Federer said: "I knew the difficulty of playing Andy. He's beaten me the last two times so I had my hands full today.
"I'm surprised how clean the score was. He didn't have his best match but I'm happy I'm playing so well obviously."
Murray had beaten Federer in Masters finals in Toronto and Shanghai this year and didn't drop a set on either occasion as he improved his career record against the Swiss to an impressive 8-5.
Murray added: "I didn't feel tight but I got off to a bad start in both sets, which doesn't help.
"I did the two most important things in tennis very poorly, which is serve and return.
"And against someone as good as Roger, you can't do them badly. That's why the score line was like it was.'
Due to the complex nature of the tournament rules, Federer will seal his place in the last four later on if David Ferrer defeats Robin Soderling or if Soderling beats Ferrer in three sets.
Either way, the World No 2 looks in the mood to end a frustrating year on a high by claiming his fifth Tour Finals title.
Murray, the fifth seed, must now defeat Ferrer in his final match on Thursday to have any chance of going through.
