Roger Federer completes stunning comeback at ATP Finals

Roger Federer has completed an improbable comeback to top his group and advance to a 15th semi-final at the ATP Finals.

Federer advanced to the last four on Thursday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Kevin Anderson in London.

Six-time champion Federer needed only a set to advance and produced his best performance at the season-ending tournament to end the round-robin stages with a 2-1 win-loss record.

After his stunning upset loss to Kei Nishikori in the opening match, it looked like Federer was likely to miss the semis for just the second time in 16 years.

But after dominant victories over Dominic Thiem and Anderson, the Swiss Maestro has completed a remarkable comeback and is firing at the right time.

Earlier, Thiem’s 6-1, 6-4 victory over Nishikori left Federer with a modest task and ensured that Anderson became the first South African ever to reach the semis.

Federer looked as if he was about to give up a break advantage for the second time in as many service games when he dropped to 0-40 attempting to close out the opening set at 5-4, but the 20-time Grand Slam champion found his first serve when it mattered most to hold.

Anderson hadn’t faced a break point in winning his first two matches.

Federer, though, broke him twice more in the second set to claim top spot in the group and avoid a potential semi-final meeting with top-ranked Novak Djokovic.