Mirka did not need to do anything other than sit courtside and applaud her husband this time as Federer volleyed his way to a 7-5 6-3 victory.
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This year it has been all Djokovic, who now has four straight victories over Nadal in nine straight sets.
Novak Djokovic came hurtling into the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on a terrific tear.
Nadal described him as “almost unbeatable” on Saturday but the Serb still trails Federer 22-21 overall and says the Swiss plays a game he finds uncomfortable, especially over three sets rather than in grand slam play when Djokovic has the edge.
Nadal denied he was feeling the effects of his long match against David Ferrer on Friday, but Djokovic certainly looked fresher after an extra day’s rest. Djokovic had the chance to gain the upper hand in their rivalry for the first time this week.
Djokovic, who would have claimed a rare calendar-year grand slam this year but for a French Open final defeat by Stanislas Wawrinka, suffered a first indoor defeat in three-and-a-half years against Roger Federer this week.
Reflecting on his performance, Murray said that he was disappointed that he had lost his last two matches and admitted that he made too many errors as he couldn’t get the right balance, the Guardian reported.
Djokovic reached his 15th consecutive tournament final, and he is seeking a career-best 11th title in 2015. It took a lot of time. Rather than thinking, “Oh, well, I can just lose this set, it’s fine”. “Nadal was alongside Federer dominating the tour”.
“If you manage your schedule, you can do that, play five tournaments a year, keep your ranking up, that’s what you want to do”, Federer told reporters. He bustled and hustled at the baseline and even threw in a love hold of his own for 3-5, but with just 33 minutes down, Djokovic had served out easily, 6-3.
But Roger will also have to take care of mistakes, like he didn’t do in NY when given chances. Subpar versus Federer this week – his 23-match winning streak was snapped – and doing enough to down Tomas Berdych on Thursday, he lifted his game Saturday. When he’s on, it’s hard to play him. There is a lot at stake.
In the end though, I know Fed beat him a few days ago but Novak will be more than motivated to end what has been a sensational season on a high note.
‘For me it’s an advantage because I guess it gives me a bit of confidence.
The Serbian, though, has been too good for just about everyone this year and Nadal was upbeat about his prospects for 2016.
“With the best will in the world, this is the seventh one of these he’s been at but it’s his first Davis Cup final”.
Nadal was deservedly on the scoreboard next but Djokovic, nearly riled by losing a game, responded with a brilliant lob to make it 4-1.
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“I do enjoy playing here”.
