Looking back at Roger Federer's last 5 semifinals at the ATP Finals
Roger Federer proved for the umpteenth time that age is just a number when he turned in a virtuoso, near-flawless performance to beat Novak Djokovic for the first time in 4 years and 6 matches. In the process, the Swiss maestro reached a record-extending 16th semifinal at the ATP Finals, in his record-extending 17th appearance at the season-ending tournament.
Federer has a rich resume at the ATP Finals. He is the tournament's all-time title leader with most titles (6) and most finals (10), has played the most matches (75), has had the most wins (59) and has won at least a match in each of his 17 appearances, failing to negotiate the group stage only in 2008.
The Swiss maestro is now just two wins away from extending his record of being the oldest player to triumph at the ATP Finals. The then 30-year-old had picked up his sixth and latest trophy at the ATP Finals in 2011.
On the eve of Federer's 16th semifinal at the ATP Finals, where he'll take on young Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, let us have a flashback of how the Swiss maestro has fared in his last 5 semifinals at the season-ending tournament.
#1 2018 Semifinal: Lost to Alexander Zverev 5-7 6-7 (5)
Federer started his 16th appearance at the ATP Finals on the wrong note, when he went down to Kei Nishikori in straight sets for his first loss in his first round-robin match in 5 years. The Swiss maestro recovered by beating Dominic Thiem and Kevin Anderson in straight sets in his next two matches to advance to a record-extending 15th semifinal at the season-ending tournament.
In an evenly contested first set, Zverev made his move in the 12th game to take the opener. The second set was another tight affair as Federer forced a tiebreak.
Despite the distraction of a ball boy in Zverev's eyeline dropping the ball during the 3-4 point in the tiebreak, which led to a section of the pro-Federer crowd unjustifiably booing the young German, Zverev served an ace on the point replay and went on to close out a 7-5 7-6(5) victory.
Zverev went on beat Novak Djokovic in the final to lift the biggest title of his career and become the first player to beat Federer and Djokovic in back-to-back matches at the ATP Finals.