“When I had my opportunity I wasn’t good enough”, Murray said in the wake of his defeat to Wawrinka, who was meeting Roger Federer last night for the prize of a place in today’s final against Novak Djokovic, the world No 1 having beaten Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-3 earlier in the day. There was the 6-0 devastation of 2011 (followed by that epic Australian Open final in January 2012) then the steady attritional dismantling of the rivalry since Beijing two years ago, during which time Djokovic has won seven of their eight matches, including the final of this tournament in 2013.
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On Saturday, fans saw Novak Djokovic involved in yet another huge upset, as he cruised to a 6-3 6-3 over Rafael Nadal to remain on course to win his fourth ATP World Tour Finals title in a row. “Nadal was alongside Federer dominating the tour. When I feel like I’m dictating the pace the match itself, most of the rallies, I feel like on top of my opponent”. There is a lot at stake. “When he’s on, it’s hard to play him”, said the world number one.
“Seems like the last month-and-a-half, two months, I was in this league, I am in this top league”.
Federer and Wawrinka, who finished last year’s dramatic tilt with a war of words in the locker room, ended this year’s battle on decidedly different terms.
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.
Djokovic, who won the singles title in three of the four Grand Slam events this year, is looking to cap his incredible season by becoming the first man to win four straight titles at the ATP World Tour Finals. Federer, however, can add to his record six titles on Sunday while also proving he can still beat the top-ranked Serb in big matches.
The Serb, stepping into the ball to stifle the aggression Nadal had shown in his impressive wins over Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray, closed out the first set and then broke for 3-2 in the second.
But the tone was set from the moment Djokovic fired four clean winners to break to love in the second game of the match. I always try to enjoy it. I always try to give everything.
“He was better than me and he deserved to do what he did during the whole season”.
Djokovic, who would have claimed a rare calendar-year grand slam this year but for a French Open final defeat by Swiss Wawrinka, suffered a first indoor defeat in 3-1/2 years against Federer this week.
“But because we played so many times I had a chance to really shorten the gap, and now even the score”. This year he serving great, I think.
As well as closing his press conference wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and looking forward (!) to seeing us all again, he also found the humour in his loss, saying: “He played just fantastic”.
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“Last shot, I went for it, closed my eyes”.
