Sensational Federer swats Nadal aside

DEFENDING champion Roger Federer produced a scintillating display last night to crush Rafa Nadal 6-3 6-0 and clinch a place in the last four of the ATP World Tour Finals.

The Swiss treated a 17,500-capacity O2 audience to his full repertoire of magic, outclassing the Spaniard in the 26th edition of arguably the greatest rivalry tennis has ever seen. World number two Nadal now faces a win-or-bust clash with Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga tomorrow in his final Group B clash after Tsonga stayed in contention with a 7-6 6-1 defeat of American Mardy Fish. Federer trailed Nadal 17-8 in their head-to-head record but had won all three previous meetings indoors, including last year’s final in the O2, and once again the conditions proved perfect for his game as the winners flowed from his racket.

The first five games went with serve before Federer changed gear. He won a sensational 33-shot rally to break Nadal for a 4-2 lead and from that moment never looked back. He needed just 32 minutes to seal the first set and Nadal was powerless in the face of the Swiss onslaught as Federer swept to victory in exactly one hour.

The masterclass came after showman Tsonga won a few thousand more admirers with a virtuoso display against Fish in the afternoon. In the opening set, Fish broke Tsonga when the Frenchman served at 5-4, but the tiebreak proved crucial. Tsonga took it and despite dropping serve immediately in the second set he reeled off the next six games.

A jaded-looking Fish lost his cool at one point, slamming his racket into the court and receiving a warning from the chair umpire. “I played really well and it’s good to win my first match here,” Tsonga said on court after performing his trademark celebratory skip around the blue court.