Roger Federer heads into the Final match of the ATP World Tour Finals with a full blast of confidence following a solid week at the O2 Arena.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion has remained undefeated this week, dropping just one set against Kei Nishikori. The most significant win of the week for Federer occurred on Tuesday when he defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets for the third time this year. Federer is the only player in 2015 that has been able to defeat the Serbian on multiple occasions. The 34-year-old will have another chance to grab one more win over the world No.1 in the final on Sunday.
The final will be meeting No.44 between the two players. It will be a rematch of last years final which came to an unfortunate end when Federer was forced to withdraw from the match due to a back injury. Fortunately, this year’s tournament has gone smoother for Federer as he spoke about his relief.
“I’m feeling slightly better than last year. Yeah, the press conference wasn’t the fun part, I could tell you that, because I knew I was not in good shape”. Federer recalled.
“ This year obviously it’s very different. I feel completely normal. It’s a big relief for me”.
Despite defeating the world No.1 once already within the past week, Federer is under no illusion of how tough the final will be. Djokovic has enjoyed a record breaking season with 6 Masters titles, 3 Grand Slam titles and 1 ATP 500 title. While the win is an obvious boost to Federer’s confidence, the Swiss has acknowledged that his confidence levels are still below the top seed.
“For me, it’s an advantage because I guess it gives me a bit of confidence. For him it’s an advantage because he gets a second chance, and he’s in another final”. The 34-year-old said.
“I still believe his confidence is slightly higher than mine with the amount of success he’s had this year”.
Nevertheless Federer is eager to play in the final of the tournament for the tenth time in his career. The Swiss reiterated that his intention this week was ‘to come here and win”. The upcoming clash will be the best out of three sets. Some has suggest that this might come to Djokovic’s advantage, however, the 34-year-old has swiftly dismissed this theory.
“I have played well against Novak this year and I hope to do the same again”. Federer said.
“The fact it is the best of three doesn’t give him an advantage. I was ready to play even if it was the best out of 5 sets”.
At 34-years-old Federer is one of the oldest players on the tour. Despite his age, the Swiss has still managed to remain in the top league of men’s tennis after winning 6 titles in 2015 as well as reaching back-to-back Grand Slam finals (Wimbledon and the US Open). Federer has always refused to set out a deadline as to when he will end his career. Speaking about the prospect of following in the footsteps of Jimmy Connors and continue playing in his 40s, Federer said he hasn’t thought about it but he will not rule it out. He said that the key behind his longevity on the tour is his management of his yearly schedule, allowing him time to recover during tournaments.
The final will get underway on Sunday at 18:00 BST at the O2 Arena in London.
