Roger Federer won a highly anticipated blockbuster clash against Novak Djokovic on Thursday evening at the Nitto ATP Finals, defeating the five-time champion in straight sets with a London semi-final spot on the line. But the Swiss’ job is far from done.

If the Swiss star dreams of extending his record number of trophies at the season finale to seven, he will have to get past sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last four.

Federer does carry momentum, though, after a splendid performance against Djokovic in which he won 78 per cent of his service points and was not broken. After that win, a reporter asked the 38-year-old Federer if he feels as young as he looks on the court.

“I feel good. I feel young,” Federer said, cracking a smile. “But I think it’s the haircut.”

Federer knows he faces a dangerous opponent in Tsitsipas, who beat him at this year’s Australian Open in four sets. The 103-time tour-level titlist has since taken a 2-1 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series with 6-4, 6-4 victories in both Dubai and Basel.

“I’m happy to stick around,” Federer said. “Hopefully [I can] go a step further than I did last year. I played a good match against Zverev last year, but he was unreal last year, so that was tough.”

Alexander Zverev won that match 7-5, 7-6(5) in his first Nitto ATP Finals semi-final, and the German went on to lift the trophy. Tsitsipas, making his debut in the year-end championships, will hope to follow in the defending champion’s footsteps.

“My body feels well currently. I don’t feel pain anywhere. I feel fresh, honestly,” said Tsitsipas after losing a two-hour, 52-minute battle against World No. 1 Rafael Nadal on Friday. “After having a long, difficult match like this, I feel like I can go out and play tomorrow the same way. So I don’t have any problem with that.”

Tsitsipas will be confident after getting off to a 2-0 start at this event in his first appearance at The O2. The Greek did not lose a set against either Zverev or Daniil Medvedev.

It will be interesting to see how Tsitsipas adapts his court positioning compared to how he played against Nadal, who took more balls inside the baseline than the Greek. Federer is well-known for taking time away from his opponents by making contact inside the baseline often.

In Melbourne, Tsitsipas saved 12 of the 12 break points he faced against Federer. In their two more recent matches, the 21-year-old was able to stave off just six of the Swiss’ 10 opportunities. That could prove key with a spot in the championship match of the Nitto ATP Finals on the line.

Did You Know?
All four semi-finalists went through round-robin play with a 2-1 record. The last time none of the semi-finalists had a 3-0 round-robin record was in 2009, the first year the Nitto ATP Finals was held at The O2 in London.

Daniil Medvedev’s week at the Nitto ATP Finals didn’t pan out as he had hoped, but he’s confident that the experience will serve him well in the future.

The Russian admitted that he’s a player who needs a first run to learn the ropes of a new environment before excelling. He lost his first ATP Tour final in 2017 Chennai (l. to Bautista Agut) before bouncing back to win his next three tour-level finals the following year. Medvedev also fell in his first ATP Masters 1000 final this year in Montreal (l. to Nadal) before regrouping with Masters 1000 crowns in Cincinnati (d. Goffin) and Shanghai (d. Zverev).

Although he departed The O2 in London with an 0-3 record in Group Andre Agassi, history indicates there won’t be a repeat if he’s able to qualify again next year.

“I always said that for me, the experience of something new is the key and it was my first time in the [Nitto] ATP Finals,” Medvedev said after his loss on Friday to Alexander Zverev. “I tried to remember if I actually had any good first-time experiences in tennis… I don’t think I ever did. 

“I’m the guy who needs to know how it is before really getting into it. Hopefully this experience will help me if I will have the chance to be in another [Nitto] ATP Finals during the next years.”

Read More: Medvedev’s Secret Is Out: He’s Ready To Challenge The Big Three 

In July, Medvedev was an outside contender to appear at the season-ending championships. But the Russian quickly leaped into the Top 8 of the ATP Race to London after producing a magical three-month run of results. In addition to his Masters 1000 success, he clinched his maiden ATP Tour crown on home soil in St. Petersburg (d. Coric) and first Grand Slam final at the US Open (l. to Nadal).

Medvedev’s season highlights also include a title in Sofia (d. Fucsovics) and runner-up showings in Brisbane (l. to Nishikori), Barcelona (l. to Thiem), and Washington, D.C. (l. to Kyrgios). He finished the year with more tour-level wins (59) than any other player.

Most Tour-Level Wins In 2019

The 23-year-old arrived in London at a career-high No. 4 in the ATP Rankings and is guaranteed to finish the year inside the Top 5. But Medvedev has always strived for bigger and better. He has drastically improved his ranking each year since arriving on Tour and is optimistic that next season will yield a similar result.

“It’s always a question with my team for the next year to come,” Medvedev said. “After the end of the year, we always try to analyse what parts of the season we could have done better [and] what we could do better overall. [But] we are also trying to do the same thing, practise as hard as I can and work physically to be 100 per cent fit.”

Alexander Zverev will have a chance at defending his Nitto ATP Finals title this weekend. The seventh-seeded German reached the semi-finals for the second consecutive year on Friday at The O2 in London, beating Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 7-6(4) to finish second in Group Andre Agassi.

Zverev will meet Group Bjorn Borg winner Dominic Thiem on Saturday evening. Stefanos Tsitsipas, also 2-1 in the group, wins Group Andre Agassi and will face Roger Federer on Saturday afternoon for a place in the season finale title match. Rafael Nadal, 2-1 in the group, finishes third and does not advance to the semi-finals.

“The O2 is the most special arena for me. It’s where I play my best tennis,” Zverev said. “The atmosphere here is something we don’t play in anywhere else in the world. It’s so special to us.

“I’ve still got to improve. We’re in the semi-finals now and it doesn’t get any easier from here. I’m going to have to play my best tennis to have a chance.”

Zverev, who trails Thiem 2-5 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, became only the fifth active player, along with Nadal, Federer, Novak Djokovic and Swiss Stan Wawrinka, to make the semi-finals at the season-ending championships in back-to-back seasons.

“[Thiem] has been playing some unbelievable tennis, maybe the best tennis that we have ever seen from him. Actually beating Roger and Novak on this court is very special. Doing it back-to-back is very, very difficult,” Zverev said.

The German improved to 5-1 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Medvedev and, despite knowing he needed to win to advance, played freely against the Russian.

Zverev broke in the opening game and mixed in slices and drop shots to bring Medvedev off the baseline. Medvedev, who was going for his first Nitto ATP Finals win after an 0-2 start, freed up in the second set, hitting the occasional second serve at 131 mph, like he did against Djokovic in the Cincinnati semi-finals en route to his first ATP Masters 1000 title.

But the Russian gambled too much in the tie-break, double faulting at 3/4. Zverev, steady on serve all match, served it out to extend his stay one more day. The German landed 81 per cent of his first serves and won 88 per cent (45/51) of those points.

“[Daniil] had nothing to lose here. For me, this was a must-win situation,” Zverev said. “All credit to Daniil. It’s been an unbelievable season for him, and I think he’s going to be very dangerous next year as well.”

Super performance from @AlexZverev ?

The defending champion defeats Medvedev 6-4, 7-6 to clinch the final spot in the semis at the #NittoATPFinals!

?: @TennisTV pic.twitter.com/SYFG8p4oer

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 15, 2019

Rafael Nadal has done his part, beating Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5 on Friday to finish 2-1 in Group Andre Agassi. Now the World No. 1 waits to learn his weekend fate.

If defending champion Alexander Zverev wins the final Group Andre Agassi match on Friday evening, the German will win the group and Tsitsipas, who is also 2-1, will finish second. But if fourth seed Daniil Medvedev can earn his first win of the tournament and beat Zverev, Nadal will win the group and Tsitsipas will finish second.

“I’m not sure if I’m going to watch the match or not. I don’t know. The only thing that is sure is I have to be ready for anything, so I think I did my work and I did it well,” Nadal said. “[I’m] happy for the victory. Now I have to wait.”

Should Medvedev win, on Saturday afternoon, Nadal would face Roger Federer, who finished second in Group Bjorn Borg behind Austrian Dominic Thiem. The two would be meeting for the 41^st time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

Nadal leads 24-16 and won their last matchup at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2013, but Federer has won six of their past seven, including their Wimbledon semi-final in July.

“It is one of the surfaces that he feels comfortable on. He plays so well. He plays so fast. So I need to play a perfect match tomorrow if I want to have any chance to be in that final,” Nadal said.

“I think I am playing better, but it’s true that Roger yesterday played unbelievable. So he will come to that match with plenty of confidence. So let’s see. I hope to be ready to compete at the highest level possible if that’s the case.”

Should Zverev win and Nadal not make the semi-finals, however, the Spaniard will leave London feeling positive about his game. After a slow start against the seventh-seeded Zverev on Monday night, the year-end World No. 1 bounced back with two victories, including a comeback win against Medvedev on Wednesday in which Nadal saved a match point at 1-5 in the third set.

“I know how I arrived here. I know the preparation [was] very short for me and not the ideal one after the injury in Bercy,” Nadal said.

“For me, it was important to give [myself] a chance to compete better than what I did the first day. The first day [was] a tough day.

“It’s the worst tournament possible to arrive without the best preparation possible, because in other tournaments sometimes you can be a little bit more lucky with the draw… But here, the first day you play one of the best players of the world on a tough surface. So if you don’t arrive with plenty of confidence on your body and your movements and everything, things become much more difficult. And I think that’s what happened. Then I think I have been improving my tennis every day.”

Nadal was reminded how much he’s improved and achieved this year after his 53^rd win when he was honoured on-court with the ATP Tour No. 1 trophy.

“This trophy is the work of the whole year, a great year in all terms. To have this trophy with me is a big personal satisfaction,” Nadal said.

“I think we did a lot of things well during the whole year. Of course the team and the family played a very important role this year, even more than other times because [there] have been some tough moments at the beginning of the season, in terms of physical issues that demoralised me a little bit. So they played a very important role, so I can’t thank all of them enough for all the support.”

Rafael Nadal has already clinched year-end No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, but he wants more at the Nitto ATP Finals. The Spaniard grabbed the second set on Friday against Stefanos Tsitsipas and levelled the score at 6-7(4), 6-4 in Group Andre Agassi.

Neither player faced a break point in the opening set. Nadal and Tsitsipas remained even until 4/4 in the tie-break, when the Greek secured a mini-break after Nadal hit a backhand into the net. Tsitsipas closed out the set with an ace two points later. He finished the set with 13 winners and 13 unforced errors.

But Nadal wasn’t ready for his time at The O2 to end. He earned the first pair of break points of the match at 2-2 in the second set, but couldn’t convert. A third break point came and went at 3-3 after a strong first serve from Tsitsipas. But Nadal made good at 4-4 and roared in approval after Tsitsipas launched a forehand wide. The Spaniard comfortably held in the next game to even the score. Nadal produced 11 winners to just six unforced errors in the second set and only lost five points on serve (20/25).

Here comes, Rafa ?@RafaelNadal takes the second set 6-4 to level the match & it is GAME ON in London ?

?: @TennisTV | #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/YxS9K9vKTS

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 15, 2019

Nadal must defeat Tsitsipas to have a chance at advancing out of round-robin action. Daniil Medvedev must then defeat Alexander Zverev in the night session in order for the Spaniard to secure his place in the semi-finals. The World No. 1 is trying to reach the last four at the season-ending championships for the first time since 2015 and sixth time overall. He is 5-2 in final round-robin matches at this event.

The Spaniard secured year-end No. 1 in the ATP Rankings after Roger Federer defeated Novak Djokovic on Thursday. It’s the fifth time that Nadal has finished a season in the top spot.

Nadal holds a 4-1 lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Tsitsipas. All three of their clashes this year took place in the semi-finals. Nadal prevailed at the Australian Open and Internazionali BNL d’Italia, while Tsitsipas scored an upset at the Mutua Madrid Open.

Tsitsipas qualified for the semi-finals on Wednesday by winning his first two matches in Group Andre Agassi. He’ll finish first in the group if he beats Nadal. The Greek is making his debut at The O2.

The ATP and Emirates today announced a renewal of their highly successful partnership, with the award-winning airline signing on as Premier Partner and Official Airline of the ATP Tour for an additional five years, beginning in 2021. The Premier Partnership renewal underscores over a decade-long commitment to the sport by Emirates.

As Official Airline and Premier Partner, Emirates will continue to receive global marketing rights and exposure through iconic on-court net branding at 60 tournaments worldwide. In 2018, ATP tournaments delivered Emirates brand exposure to a cumulative dedicated audience in excess of 1 billion, while the ATP’s worldwide platform also provides Emirates with an outstanding opportunity to showcase their unrivalled hospitality.

“We are delighted to have Emirates extend their Premier Partner status as the ATP Tour continues to soar in popularity as a truly worldwide sport,” said Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President. “The Tour looks forward to further enhancing the exceptional partnership that has already been built, and the renewal reinforces the benefits the global platform of the ATP Tour provides to such a highly regarded and established brand in the sports marketing world.”

“We’ve been associated with the ATP since 2013 and it’s been a successful partnership so far and a great fit for our brand. As a global airline serving 158 destinations across 85 countries, and the ATP Tour itself taking place in 30 destinations to which we fly, along with the growing popularity of the tour, it remains a strong platform for us to connect with our customers, hence the decision to continue to being a Premier Partner and the Official Airline of the ATP Tour,” said Boutros Boutros, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand.