LONDON • If Roger Federer is to win the 100th tournament of his 20-year career in London this week, he will need to rediscover some of his renowned composure after an unusually frenetic two-set loss to Kei Nishikori on Sunday (Nov 11).
It was the first time in 15 visits to the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals that the six-time champion had lost a round-robin match in straight sets.
The Swiss even picked up a rare code violation, thrashing the ball into the crowd after failing to read and reach a subtle tap down the line when he had his Japanese opponent under pressure in the 11th game of the first set, serving at 5-6 and 15-30.
When Federer then hit the ball into the crowd in frustration, umpire Damian Steiner was less than pleased and the Swiss star could not hide his anger at the sanction.
The incident seemed to unsettle his game - not to mention the comfort of his adoring audience - and he went on to lose the tie-break, the set and the match.
Nishikori steadied his nerves for a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 win in just under 11/2 hours that eased him into the second round of their group in good shape against South African Kevin Anderson, who had beaten Austria's Dominic Thiem 6-3, 7-6 (12-10) earlier.
Thiem, who could fail to progress from the group phase for the third year in a row, will play Federer today.
Afterwards, Federer played down the incident with Steiner, saying: "I thought, 'What was his argument, you know?' Why the warning? But nothing more than that. He thought I was angry. I wasn't. Now I'm angry because I lost."
He also denied that cutting back on his tour schedule increased the scrutiny on him, adding: "I don't think I'm playing worse because of it. I've had that pressure, not going out early, most of my career."
When asked if he had been joking earlier about being out of sorts in practice, the world No. 3 told reporters: "I've been feeling fine. It's just that practice has been a bit all over the place... it's not always exactly the same conditions. Overall, I'm hitting the ball OK."
However, the evidence - 34 unforced errors against 19 winners for Federer - suggests vulnerability and Nishikori, who had beaten him only twice in nine previous encounters, kept his nerve to serve for the victory, his first over the 20-time Grand Slam winner since 2014.
"I lost to him twice in the last two months so I played more aggressively and things started working, especially in the second set. There were some lucky points but I played well today," the world No. 9, who is seeded seventh of the eight finalists, said.
The ATP Finals are contested by the eight players who have accumulated the most ranking points over the season and the finale is separated into two groups, with the winners and runners-up reaching the semi-finals.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE GUARDIAN
ATP FINALS
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