By Rugiri Kiarie
A year ago, the two best tennis players in
the world, Novak Djokovic and Roger
Federer, were contesting not just the final
title of the ATP year but the No1 ranking.
As it turned out, Djokovic ended the season with
both: He held off Federer’s late-season surge
and unbeaten run at the O2 with his own
unbeaten run to the final. Federer, after picking
up a back injury late on Saturday night in a barn-
storming semi-final, was forced to withdraw from
their eagerly-anticipated face-off.
For their rivalry, both before and since, has
become one of tennis’s finest, most intense,
most compelling—second only to Djokovic and
Rafael Nadal in times played, second only to
Federer and Nadal in charisma—though on both
counts, this rivalry is surely a close contender.
Since their first meeting almost a decade ago,
they have met 42 times, and are poised at 21
wins apiece.
Since their first meeting, they have five times
played five matches in a single year, they have
spent more weeks at No1 than any other active
players, and have won the World Tour Finals 10
times—Federer six times, Djokovic four.
But since that missed meeting in London 12
months ago, the rivalry as taken on still greater
weight. Already they have met six times this
year, all finals. In a season of just five losses,
Djokovic has been beaten twice by only one
man: Federer. And the Swiss is second only to
Djokovic in titles won, with six—though make no
mistake, this year, the super Serb has been the
best of the best: 10 titles from 14 consecutive
finals.
But what makes this rivalry doubly compelling is
that they seem always to bring out the best in
each other, pitching Federer’s all-court fluency,
attack and tactical guile against the super-fit,
super-flexible body and intellect of one of the
greatest defenders in the game.
But here, with Federer pipped to the No2 post by
Murray, the latest Swiss-Serb battle would be
uncommonly early. Indeed since 2007, they had
met before the semi-finals only once, also in the
round-robin, 2013.
Over so many years and so many matches, as
one champion to another, and now one father to
another, their respect for one another has grown.
After Federer’s victory in Dubai, he said of
Djokovic: “I think it’s really become a very nice
rivalry. I think we play very nice against each
other, and it seems people like the way we play
against each other, as well. I don’t think we have
to adjust our games very much against each
other… we can just play our game, and then the
better man wins… He’s become such an
unbelievable player… and became the best mover
in the game. It’s really a pleasure playing against
him every single time.”
Djokovic responded in kind: “We always make
each other play our best tennis. We require from
each other the maximum focus and commitment,
and that’s what raises the quality of the match.”
Both arrived here with indoor titles, too: Djokovic
over Murray in the Paris Masters and Federer
over Nadal in Basel.
One thing, then, was certain: this contest would
be as eagerly contested as it was watched.
Djokovic certainly came out with all guns blazing,
and had a break point in the very first game, but
Federer, whose serving in the first set in
particular was in a fine groove, held with an ace.
It would be Djokovic’s only chance in the set, as
both held strongly through to 5-5.
Then Federer held to love and, rather than
coming forward in shock attacks, he pounded the
baseline like a man a decade younger than his 34
years, slicing and driving on the backhand,
hammering his forehand, with angle and down
the line, and earned his first break chance. Djokovic, one of the most adept players as
switching defence into sudden offence, replied in
kind. But he could not close it out, and at the
second time of asking, Federer did break, and
the arena erupted as he sealed the set, 7-5, after
an intense 44 minutes.
Federer got off to a racing start in the second
set, too, converting the last of three break
points. But again, Djokovic showed just how
dangerous he is when under pressure. He broke
back, but Federer was on a roll. He even got the
rub of the net with two break points on the
board, as a searing backhand down the line
clipped the tape: He apologised, as protocol
demands, but he had the 4-2 advantage.
It would not stop there, either. Djokovic was
unusually profligate with errors in the final few
games and Federer took full advantage. After a
love hold, he broke again in the longest game of
the match via three deuces and two break
points. Djokovic cast the die at Hawkeye in the
face of a closing winner, but it was a lost cause.
Federer had the win, 6-2, and that was not all.
He maintained his record of never trailing
Djokovic in their head to head and, more
important, with Kei Nishikori’s three-set 7-5, 3-6,
6-3 win over Tomas Berdych earlier in the day,
Federer also became the first man in the
tournament to confirm his place in the semi-
finals.
Djokovic was pragmatic, as a man who has won
10 titles and 79 matches this season should be:
“You have those days when you’re not feeling
your best—not even close to the best. Credit to
Roger for mixing up the pace, giving me always a
different ball. He used the slice and spin very
wisely. He served very efficiently. I made a lot of
unforced errors. Just handed him the win,
especially in the second set… But, again, that’s
sport.”
Federer, for his part, was not giving away too
much about his tactical plan: “I might have to
play him again!”
But he admitted he had not hoped for too much
from this particular match: “I focused more on
beating [Tomas] Berdych and Nishikori and let’s
see what happens against Novak. That shows me
that I didn’t expect this victory. But then again,
all day I felt good about my chances. It was
clear in my head how I wanted to play. Once the
match went on, I felt like, I’m with him, I’m
serving well, could play better from the baseline
maybe at times… I was just hoping I was going
to get a good return game, which I did get
eventually.”
In truth, he looked and sounded rather less
spritely in his news conference: He has the
beginnings of a beard and a sniffle, and looked in
need of some sleep, too.
But the pressure is off when it comes to
Nishikori on Thursday—so who knows how he will
play with the brakes off? For now, Federer has
notched up his 50th win in his 14th consecutive
year in the tournament, and in all that time he
has failed to make the semis only once—and it is
not this year.
