• ATP World Tour Finals

Irresistible Federer stuns Nadal to book semi spot

Roger Federer returns the ball against Rafael Nadal © Getty Images

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Roger Federer produced one of the finest wins of his career as he swept aside Rafael Nadal at the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

The world No. 4 produced a tennis masterclass to seal an emphatic 6-3 6-0 victory in exactly an hour to book his place in the semi-finals with a match to spare.

In the 26th meeting between the pair, it was the first in which neither player was the No. 1 ranked player in the world, but that took nothing away from the atmosphere in the O2 Arena, nor the intensity of the match as Federer claimed a memorable victory over his fierce rival.

Federer opened with a double fault, but that was virtually his only mistake of the night - he made just eight unforced errors and hit 28 winners to his opponent's four as he simply outclassed Nadal, who had won 17 of their previous 25 encounters.

After a close-fought opening, it was Nadal who blinked first; a smash from Federer handed him three break points, and he needed just one as Nadal sent a return long after a marathon rally.

Oozing confidence, Federer sailed through his service game, while Nadal produced a gritty service game to force Federer to serve for the set. It proved to be the last game Nadal would win, as the Swiss wrapped up the opening set with one of countless forehand winners.

Federer piled the pressure on Nadal from the moment the players returned to court for the second set, and it was one-way traffic as the Swiss dominated proceedings to take an early break of serve. Nadal tried everything in his power to stop the onslaught, but Federer was just too good as he wrapped up a resounding win.

The result sees Federer, the defending champion, qualify for the semi-finals, while Nadal must beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday in a straight shootout for the second semi-final spot in Group B. Federer will play Mardy Fish on Thursday in what is essentially a dead rubber with Federer already through and Fish unable to qualify.

"I had some good ones, you know, in my career, my lifetime," Federer said of his victory. "This one ranks high because it's against my biggest rival probably. It's the World Tour Finals, where it really matters. That I've been able to come through so convincing is a bit of a surprise to me, but it ranks extremely high."

Should Federer reach the final in London, he will overtake Andy Murray to return to world No. 3.

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