Djokovic eclipses Federer to crown himself in shimmering glory
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 12: Novak Djokovic of Serbia lifts the trophy as he celebrates victory after his men
The O2 Arena in London was awash in blue, glowing as it did under the bright lights, the iridescent stage a perfect setting for this titanic duel between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. It took a monumental effort in the end, but Djokovic is a man possessed every time his back is against the wall. In yet another typically resilient display of tennis, Djokovic proved again that even the best of Federer wasn’t enough to get past him as he trounced the Swiss 7-6(6), 7-5 in a two hour 14 minute battle to clinch the World Tour Finals and douse himself in crowning glory.
If Federer needed to get off to a good start, he got one better than could have been scripted by the man himself. The Swiss cleaned up eleven of the first twelve points to race away to a 3-0 lead. Resilience under stress has been a constant companion on the tour for Djokovic and yet again, he began to weave himself back into the canvas with a brutal display of power and consistency.
Federer’s joy lasted only briefly, as in the fifth game, Djokovic started to step in on his strokes to push Federer on the defensive. The Swiss wilted in the face of the Serbian’s power and a couple of errors off his normally dependable forehand were to surrender the break back to his opponent. And though Federer pushed the sixth to deuce, the depth and pace off the Djokovic racket was leaving a telling imprint as the Serbian clawed his way back to 3-3.
With the match evenly poised, Djokovic went on the offensive to push Federer to the brink on his serve in the ninth game. Under constant attack from the world No.1, Roger’s forehand failed him each time he had a game point, before eventually costing him the expensive break when he dumped an easy forehand into the net.
When Federer dumped his return in the net off a big serve down the middle, Djokovic had earned the first set point at 40-30 in the tenth game. Staring at danger, the Swiss raised his game to engage in an intense duel that ended when Djokovic left his forehand crosscourt in the bottom of the net. At deuce a riveting battle on the backhand side ended in Federer’s favour when Djokovic sent his long to offer Federer only his second break point of the match.
Aroused by the opportunity, the Swiss managed to stretch Djokovic into an error with an inside in forehand to break back immediately to restore parity at 5-5. And he followed that with a commanding hold to 6-5 with the help of two aces. Federer rode the momentum to clinch the first two points in the next game, but Djokovic responded with calm assurance to win the next four points to push the set into a tie-breaker.
It started with a prolonged rally and it was Federer who blinked first when he sent his backhand long to start it by conceding the mini-break. But the Swiss undid the damage on the third point with some typically classy play – sending Djokovic wide with a delicious cross court backhand before creaming another up the line to take advantage of the space. The match was dead even when the men changed ends at 3-3 in the breaker, hardly anything to separate them.
At 4-4 though, Djokovic engaged in a testing rally off the backhand and Roger eventually gave in when he overcooked his response to leave the set on the Serbian’s racket yet again at 5-4. But then, in a moment of inspired tennis, Federer ran around to strike a peach of an approach shot that stretched Djokovic to the limit and forced the error. Djokovic though held his ground to win the next and earn a second set point.
Yet another timeless treasure where Federer retrieved an impossible get at the net to stroke a clean winner allowed the Swiss to claw back to 6-6. But magic was followed by madness, when Federer made an avoidable mess off his forehand to leave Djokovic serving for the set again. The Serbian made no mistake this time around, as he punched an inside out forehand winner to clinch the tightly contested opening set in an hour and 12 minutes.
An unforced error off the Djokovic forehand offered the Swiss a first sniff at the beginning of the second set, but Roger sent a backhand long to surrender the break point. Djokovic returned the favour with a poor backhand of his own, but yet again Federer failed to clinch the break. As the game stretched into an eleventh minute and five deuces, it was apparent neither man was ready to yield.
But the extended game eventually got under the skin of Djokovic, who made two unforced errors off the backhand to concede the break after an engaging duel that lasted a shade over 11 minutes. The intensity of this gigantic duel was threatening to singe the turf and one barely needed to be inside the impressive arena to feel its scorching heat. Federer was under palpable stress at 30-30 in the fourth game and he came up with a delectable cross court touch volley for game point.
Djokovic forced deuce with an inside out forehand winner behind Federer, but the Swiss managed to stave off the threat with an ace to keep his nose ahead at 3-1 as he continued to battle to take the match into a decisive set. The odds were stacked against the Swiss who had lost all eight of their encounters, when he lost the first set.
Federer was under severe danger of surrendering the advantage back to his opponent in the eighth game, but after saving break point with an ace the Swiss survived a couple of deuces to eventually hold serve to 5-3. Federer earned his first set points in the tenth game when Djokovic dumped a backhand in the net, but not for the first time in the match Federer’s impressive game failed him fatally to squander four straight points to turn the set on its head as Djokovic clawed his way back to 5-5.
The tireless retriever in Djokovic had been woken up with prolific assistance from Federer and after languishing behind for much of the set the Serbian was a game away from his second year end championships when he held serve for 6-5. Having surrendered the momentum, Federer seemed to be delving in doubt and a series of unforced errors helped Djokovic to his first championship point. And even when Federer pushed off his forehand to stretch Djokovic, the Serbian sent back the ball inches over the net and too low for an advancing Federer who found himself out of position and the match.
It was a match in which Federer threw everything but the kitchen sink at the top ranked Serbian, but in the vital moments just could not find the game needed to pin down the marauding Djokovic. The numbers told a tale in themselves – Djokovic won just one point more than Federer, 96-95 but he certainly won the ones that mattered most. Federer had 30 winners to 19 from Djokovic, but some of his 42 unforced errors came at inopportune moments.
“Congratulations to Novak on an amazing tournament and an amazing year,” acknowledged Federer. “You are the best. It has been an amazing year for me too and I would like to say thank you to my team who have followed me round the world.” Federer also thanked the referee Lars Graff who has retired with this tournament. “It is always a privilege and a challenge to play you Roger so congratulations on an amazing year,” averred Djokovic. “Thank you for all your support, I want to thank my team, I couldn’t have done it without you. I love you.”
As the blue and white tickertape showered on the court, it was clear that the season and the all the glory in it belonged to the Serbian who has consistently thrust the weight of his unwavering will to force his opponents into painful submission. For Federer, it is increasingly apparent that while he is incredibly brilliant for his age he is finding it harder to close out his matches against his chief rivals and as he goes into a well-deserved break we cannot blame him if he begins to ponder more about his legacy than count his victories.
Earlier in the day, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna lost their doubles finals against Marc Lopez and Marcel Granollers 5-7, 6-3, 3-10 as they draw curtains on their flourishing partnership. Bhupathi has already stated that 2013 will be his farewell year on the tour and has asked Bopanna to look out for an alternative partner.