Seb Kay rounds up the day-three action from the Barclays ATP Finals at the O2 arena in London.
Novak Djokovic v Roger Federer
An eagerly awaited match-up that boasted 27 Grand Slam titles took to Centre Court last night with two of the all-time greats battling out for the 43rd time in their careers
The first set didn’t provide any shocks with masterful play from true masters of the game. Rugged defence from Djokovic and aggressive attack from Federer provided wonderful viewing for the tennis enthusiasts in the crowd, with Federer managing to get the only break of the set for a 7-5 win.
Djokovic seemed to tire in the second set, and Federer took full advantage to secure a big 7-5 6-2 victory. Not only did the win book the Swiss’ place in the semi-finals, but also brought an end to Djokovic’s three-year unbeaten run indoors.
Kei Nishikori v Tomas Berdych
In a must win match for both players, it went down to the wire in a three-set thriller.
Nishikori took 63 minutes to win the first set, after he failed to claim a 14-point game on the tall Czech’s serve, but the Japanese player finally prevailed in the 11th game before serving out the set 7-5.
The second set saw Nishikori take a 2-0 lead, though a five-game streak from Berdych helped him take the match to a decider as he claimed the set 6-3.
After surviving pressure on his own serve at 3-3, Nishikori bounced back with some great returns and deep groundstrokes that proved too strong for Berdych. Nishikori then finished the match by holding serve to win the match and virtually knock Berdych out of the tournament, 7-5 3-6 6-3.
Rohan Boppana & Florin Mergea v Jamie Murray & John Peers
Rohan Boppana and Florin Mergea became the first players to gain a semi-final berth at the expense of British doubles hopes Jamie Murray and his partner John Peers.
Boppana and Mergea went to an early 3-0 lead and never looked back, to run away with the first set 6-3.
Murray and Peers showed some resilience in the second set, by taking it to a tie break and leading 4-2, however the number eight seeds debutants won the next five of six points to take the match 6-3 7-6.
Mike & Bob Bryan v Fabio Fognini & Simone Bolleli
The irrepressible pairing of the Bryan brothers kept their hopes of ending the year as the World number one pairing alive by sweeping past the Italian duo of Fognini and Bolleli.
Despite only serving at 56% first serve and combining for one ace the entire encounter, the Bryans did not face a single break point in the match and converted three of five break points, to comfortably beat the Australian Open Grand Slam champions 6-3 6-2.