Zeenews Sports Bureau
London: Roger Federer advanced to the ATP World Tour finals in London by beating the current Olympic and US Open champion Andy Murray 7-6 (5), 6-2.
In another match, world no. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and will meet the Swiss in the final showdown on Monday.
The top two players in the world advanced to the championship match at the ATP finals on Sunday, each looking beatable early before turning things around.
"I knew that if I lose today it`s the end of the season, so I gave everything I had and couldn`t be more happy," Federer was quoted as saying by a news agency after the match.
The ATP finals is the final tournament of the 2012 season and it will be the top-ranked male tennis players who will be competing to end the year on a high.
"Once he gets ahead, he`s incredibly hard to stop," said Murray, who leads Federer 10-9 in head-to-head play.
"He tends to play better and better when he gets up. I feel like I gave him that advantage the beginning of the second set."
Earlier, Djokovic came from one set down to oust Del Potro from the tournament.
"Well, I had a little, let`s say, crisis in today`s match from 4-all, first set to 2-all in the second, where I didn`t feel so good on the court, struggling to find my momentum and my rhythm," Djokovic said.
"So you try to be positive and push myself to fight for every point and believe I can come back. That was the case."
"He`s so good," Del Potro said.
"Of course, he`s the No. 1. In these kinds of matches, they make the difference between them and the rest of the players."
With Agencies
First Published: Monday, November 12, 2012, 09:11