Roger Federer has completed his hat-trick of wins over Novak Djokovic this year at the O2 Arena. The venue for his victory is suiting for the 17-time Grand Slam champion after he was forced to withdraw from the final of last year’s event due to a back injury.
Despite ending the Djokovic’s 23-match winning streak, Federer has still insisted that the world No.1 is still the main contender for the title as he bids to claim his 11th title of 2015 this week. The Swiss player in one of only four men to beat Djokovic this year, but he is the only player who has defeated him on multiple occasions.
“To me Novak is still the favorite of the tournament. He is the heavy favorite in the Berdych match, in my opinion. Then he should make his way to the semis somehow. I don’t know exactly what he needs”. Said Federer.
https://soundcloud.com/ubitennis/roger-federer-to-me-djokovic-is-still-the-favourite
Leading up to his match against the world No.1, Federer spoke with Stefan Edberg about changing his approach to the match. The key behind Federer’s 22nd victory over the Serbian was down to his willingness to try new things, a strategy which was agreed between him and Edberg.
“”I spoke to Stefan before the match and we agreed that I wanted to try new things, mix it up and put Novak under pressure that way. But still, I had to finish it off. Against Novak if you don’t take your chances you are going to pay for it”. The 34-year-old revealed.
https://soundcloud.com/ubitennis/federer-i-like-to-give-credit-to-myself-for-the-way-novak-played
Federer is accustomed to ending player’s long winning streaks. One of his most noticeable achievements was at the 2007 Hamburg Masters when he defeated Rafael Nadal in the final, ending his 81-match winning streak on clay. Comparing his two achievements, Federer said that his win in Hamburg was more significant, however, he isn’t too concerned about ending Djokovic’s winning run this year.
“”It doesn’t really matter, is not too important to end Djokovic’s streak for me. You know, after all it wasn’t a final. The one against Rafa, I think in Hamburg where I beat him, it was a final and because of that it was more important. But considering the year Djokovic has had, it sure is a very good win for me”
Leading up to his match Federer spent two-and-a-half hours in traffic before finally getting to the O2 Arena. The 34-year-old saw the humorous side to his ordeal by joking ‘I am going to miss this match again’. Jokes aside, the Swiss talked about the his decision to withdraw from his final clash against Novak Djokovic at last year’s tournament. When he stepped on the court it triggered a flashback to the final last year. Looking back on that day, Federer admitted that his biggest issue wasn’t himself.
“To step onto the court and apologize to my fans was the worst moment. I was very sorry, more for them than me. I haven’t done that many times in my career so it was hard for me”. Federer recounted.
The next match for Federer will be against Kei Nishikori in what will be their first meeting this year. Federer currently leads the head-to-head 3-2 but is aware of the threat that Nishikori can pose. The Swiss is familiar with the playing style of the 25-year-old after training with him when he was 16/17-years-old. At that time Federer predicted big things for the Japanese player, which proved to be right.
“I thought he was fast.” Federer remembered.
“He finds it very easy to generate a lot of power on the backhand, finds great angles on the backhand, and can redirect up the line almost better than anybody right now in the game”.
Both men have expressed respect towards each other, on Tuesday Nishikori spoke about his admiration for the tennis legend. The two will battle against each other at the O2 Arena on Thursday at 14:00 GMT.
