'Get him back': Roger Federer seeks Wimbledon revenge against Novak Djokovic
Roger Federer has admitted he is looking forward to his clash with World No.2 Novak Djokovic in a bid to make the semi-final of the ATP Finals.
The Swiss maestro got back on track at the ATP Finals with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 defeat of Italian Matteo Berrettini.
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Defeat by Dominic Thiem in his opening round-robin match on Sunday has left the six-time champion facing an early exit, but he responded in emphatic fashion on Tuesday.
Berrettini was also coming off a heavy defeat by Novak Djokovic in his first appearance at the event, and the 23-year-old showed why he has made such an impact this year as he pushed Federer hard in the opening set.
He saved a set point at 5-6 but Federer squeezed the accelerator to win 10 of 11 points as he cruised through the tiebreak and broke to love at the start of the second.
Berrettini, the first Italian to qualify for the tournament since 1978, had three break points in the eighth game but Federer served his way out of trouble and the 38-year-old Swiss then broke to claim victory.
Incredibly, Federer is now 17-0 in second round-robin matches at the tournament but he is likely to need a victory over Djokovic on Thursday to reach the semi-finals.
Federer looking for Wimbledon revenge
And Federer admitted he was looking to “get him back” following the heartbreaking loss at Wimbledon this year.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion dropped two championship points in his loss to Djokovic in a five-set epic.
“Actually, it’s good for me to play him again, and maybe that all helps to get a chance to get him back,” Federer said following the match.
“Maybe it took me a few days, couple weeks at most, to get over the Wimbledon loss.
“We’ll find out, but I think it’s all flushed away from my side. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then.”
Only once in his previous 16 appearances at the year-ender has Federer failed to survive the group stage, in 2008.
Djokovic, who is bidding to equal Federer's record of six titles and claim back the world No.1 ranking from Rafael Nadal, faces Thiem later at the O2 Arena.
With AAP