Roger Federer chalked up yet another record when victory over Janko Tipsarevic at the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday put him top of the list for match wins at the traditional season-ender.
The 17-times grand slam champion cruised to a 6-3 6-1 victory over the Serbian world number nine, taking his haul of victims in the event to 40, one more than Ivan Lendl.
Federer, who has won the title a record six times including the last two editions at London’s O2 Arena, seized the initiative when he broke Tipsarevic’s first service game and never looked like loosening his grip in a one-sided contest.
Tipsarevic, who pulled out of his match at the Paris Masters last week because of illness, qualified for the eight-man tournament as a result of Rafa Nadal’s continuing injury woes.
He never looked like recording a first career victory over the Swiss, however, and despite offering dogged resistance there was an air of predictability about the contest.
Federer pounced again to break for a 2-1 lead in the second set and galloped away to victory .
In Group A, world number one Novak Djokovic and US Open champion Andy Murray won their opening matches on Monday.
The World No.1, who failed to make it out of Round Robin stage last year, beat the Frenchman for the fifth time this season, grabbing a 7-6(4), 6-3 win Monday.
‘To be quite honest, he was the better player throughout the first set. I faced many break points and I didn’t have any in the opening set. I managed to serve well, play well, stay mentally tough, and tried to fight my way through,’ said Djokovic.
Meanwhile, on Monday Andy Murray beat Tomas Berdych 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening Group A match to start positively.
The 17-times grand slam champion cruised to a 6-3 6-1 victory over the Serbian world number nine, taking his haul of victims in the event to 40, one more than Ivan Lendl.
Federer, who has won the title a record six times including the last two editions at London’s O2 Arena, seized the initiative when he broke Tipsarevic’s first service game and never looked like loosening his grip in a one-sided contest.
Tipsarevic, who pulled out of his match at the Paris Masters last week because of illness, qualified for the eight-man tournament as a result of Rafa Nadal’s continuing injury woes.
He never looked like recording a first career victory over the Swiss, however, and despite offering dogged resistance there was an air of predictability about the contest.
Federer pounced again to break for a 2-1 lead in the second set and galloped away to victory .
In Group A, world number one Novak Djokovic and US Open champion Andy Murray won their opening matches on Monday.
The World No.1, who failed to make it out of Round Robin stage last year, beat the Frenchman for the fifth time this season, grabbing a 7-6(4), 6-3 win Monday.
‘To be quite honest, he was the better player throughout the first set. I faced many break points and I didn’t have any in the opening set. I managed to serve well, play well, stay mentally tough, and tried to fight my way through,’ said Djokovic.
Meanwhile, on Monday Andy Murray beat Tomas Berdych 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening Group A match to start positively.