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Liveblogging Day Six of the World Tour Finals

By Juan José on November 10, 2012

Today at the 02 Arena: bad scheduling has Federer and Del Potro squaring off first, even though the result of their match could render Ferrer-Tipsarevic meaningless (Note from the future: not COMPLETELY meaningless – see the last bit of the morning session below to find out why). The first blemish on the otherwise impeccable scheduling throughout the week!

Here are the scenarios (as far as I can tell): If Del Potro beats Federer, he is in the semis, no matter what Ferrer does. However, if Del Potro wins in straight sets, he will win the group – if he wins in three, Federer wins the group. If Federer wins in two or three sets, he’ll win the group, but regardless of the result, the Swiss will be in the semifinals. But if Federer does win, Ferrer has to beat Tipsarevic to advance. However, if by some strange miracle Tipsarevic wins….

This is making my head hurt, and Tipsarevic won’t beat Ferrer. So I refuse to think about those scenarios.

If you need to catch up with Group B action, here’s the Day 4 Liveblog, and the Day 2 Liveblog. If you missed the action yesterday, here’s the Day 5 Liveblog.

Remember to refresh this page often!

(Timestamps are for US Central Time)

7:50 am – Paes and Stepanek (a.k.a. Team Evil) is battling it out with the Bryan Brothers in a a super tiebreaker. ESPN3 is not starting their broadcast yet, even though they claim it should have started 5 minutes ago. Also…I’m still waking up.

7:57 am – Team Evil wins, 10-7 in the super tiebreaker. ESPN3 still doesn’t have the tennis on, despite the 12 minute delay. Glad to know we’re not the only ones with inexplicable technical difficulties!

8:97 am – Not to worry – if ESPN3 craps the bed completely, I still have The Tennis Channel.

8:16 – And we’re underway! A tentative rally ensues, and Federer frames a forehand to send it wide. Tactically, Federer has to do what he usually does against Del Potro: make the big guy move, and always keep him on the defensive. Serving will will help. Del Potro needs to counter this by taking the initiative himself, and force Federer to play defense constantly. Del Potro needs to serve well, but more importantly, he needs to return well. He can’t let Federer off the hook if the Swiss can’t make first serves. In other words, he has to avoid pulling a Ferrer. Also, Del Potro has to vary his patterns: he can’t afford to be predictable, particularly on the backhand side, where he’s allergic to hit down the line.

8:18:

ESPN3 didn’t show this…but…ugh.

8:20 – Federer holds. 1-0.

8:22 – DelPo holds to 30 after an off-speed ace up the middle. He seemed intent on attacking, which is a good sign for him – it usually takes him at least a set to start unloading on his groundies. However, Del Potro did play a very good first set when the pair met in Basel two weeks ago.

8:26 – Del Potro with an early 15-30 advantage on Federer’s serve, but it’s snuffed out by good serving from the Swiss. A DelPo forehand clips the net and lands wide, and Federer holds for 2-1.

8:30 – Del Potro holds easily. Federer not as sharp as he’d like with the forehand. In other “news”:

8:32 – It took less than two minutes for Federer to hold. Up 3-2. Jason Goodall with the mandatory comparison of this match with a boxing match where the fighters take the first few rounds to study each other, waiting to go on the offensive. It’s an accurate comparison.

8:35 – Del Potro with another easy hold. Not much to say about it.

8:37 – Federer once again holds to love for 4-3. All I can think of is that this streak of easy holds always favors the better server, in this case Federer. You never want to let the Swiss get on a groove serving. He can carry the confidence gained early through the whole match. Through seven games, Federer is serving 62% of first serves. DelPo? 80%.

8:40 – We get a rally at 15-0 that feels like the first one in about half an hour. Del Potro misses a few first serves, and goes down 15-30. Then it’s 15-40. Del Potro staves off the first break point with an ace up the T. Looked wide, but Federer didn’t challenge. Del Potro misses a first serve, but then unloads with his forehand up the middle, barely catching the line. Federer can’t handle the pace, and it’s deuce. Goodall says Del Potro, after serving 80% 1st serves, has only made 2 of 6 first deliveries in this game. Del Potro then sends a forehand well wide, and it’s break point again. Federer botches a forehand, and it’s deuce again. The Swiss then sends a backhand long during a neutral rally, and it’s game point for the Argie. Lars Graf continues to suck, as he overruled a backhand by Federer that was called out. The ball landed on Graf’s sideline. Again, there’s a reason why he’s retiring after this tournament. Del Potro survives a terrible service game, and we’re tied at 4-all.

8:47 – Federer goes for a tweener when up 15-0. Fails. Then, at 30-15, Del Potro goes for a tweener for no real reason, gets it in, but ends up losing the point after having a chance to unload with his forehand.

Good volley by Federer to survive. At 40-30, Del Potro hits not one, but two backhands down the line. I feel like I just saw a unicorn. Deuce.

A couple of UFEs later, we’re back to deuce. Del Potro missed a backhand cross court, Federer missed a forehand wildly. Then Federer almost gets burned by sending a shot forehand straight at Del Potro, but survives thanks to a nice volley, and holds a few moments later. 5-4, Federer.

8:55 – DelPo holds, and he started grunting during rallies. As that usually means, the ball traveled quite fast. 5-all.

8:58 – It took barely a couple of minutes for Federer to hold to 15. He’s serving well, and covering the net extremely well. Those volleys have saved the Swiss from a couple of dicey situations. 6-5.

9:02 – More crunch time tennis: Federer starts with a forehand UFE. Good DelPo serve up the T sets up a short putaway, 30-0. Federer then sends a forehand return of a second serve well long, 40-0. And then, another kind of unicorn: Federer sends a backhand slice well wide. He rarely if ever does that. Onto a breaker!

9:09 – Del Potro misses a 2nd serve return. Never good to miss those. 1-0, Federer. Then Federer goes for a backhand down the line…and misses by two miles. 1-all. He’s not happy about that one. DelPo drops a bomb up the T, 2-1 for him. DelPo starts grunting on his groundies, hitting the ball harder, and Federer can’t even survive the first grunt-ful forehand. 3-1, Delpo. Federer then tries to run around his backhand after DelPo barely gets a return back in play after a good body serve, but frames the forehand badly. DelPo with the double-minibreak, 4-1. Del Potro seems obsessed with going exclusively cross court with his backhand, Federer takes the opportunity and goes down the line…the ball is called good…DelPo challenges, and the ball is shown to have missed by about 4 inches. Bad call, 5-1 DelPo. Then Federer again goes down-the-line with his backhand, trying to be aggressive, but missing by about 4 nautical miles. A horrific tiebreaker by Federer. 6-1, DelPo. Federer saves the first set point with an ace out wide. 6-2. Then a nice forehand putaway saves another for Federer. 6-3. A DelPo bomb out wide that Federer challenges is overturned – it had been called good. No matter – Federer shanks a backhand return off a pretty tame second serve by Delpo. Shocking tiebreaker by Federer.

Robbie says “it’s a case of Shank You very much”. Yes, yes it was.

Federer will be annoyed to lose a set in which he had quite a few clear chances, and served pretty well. Just came apart in the breaker.

9:12 – File this under “interesting”:

9:13 – Federer’s backhand is not bad enough to miss one of his classic patented cross-court backhand passing shots. An overhead later, and DelPo is down 0-30. A forehand UFE by DelPo, and it’s 0-40. After getting completely outmaneuvered, DelPo gets broken in what felt like a minute.

Robbie mentions that DelPo has now won the first set versus Federer in the last four of their matches. Reminder: DelPo only won one of those matches.

9:16 – Federer with the first easy hold of the last twenty minutes.

9:17 – DelPo with an off-speed backhand down the line winner. I’m seeing all sorts of unicorns today.

9:19 – DelPo holds easily, but Federer is up a break, 2-1. The DJ plays that horrible “We are young” song. I wonder what Federer thinks about that.

Lindsay reads my mind:

9:23 – Federer was holding comfortably until he missed a backhand pass, and then DelPo frames a forehand return for an unexpected winner. However, the Argie sends the next return into the net, and it’s 3-1.

9:26 – DelPo holds easily. This set is closely mirroring the 1st set, with the only difference that DelPo actually paid for his bad service game and got broken. 3-2, Federer.

9:27 – File this under “3 hour yoga sessions” or “Huh?”:

9:29 – I blinked, and Federer held serve. 4-2. The Swiss is serving 69% 1st serves, and has lost only 2 points on serve – neither on his second serve.

9:33 – DelPo was holding easily, until Federer pulls a crazy, indescribably return (he kneeled down and blocked the ball as if he were raising his racquet in apology for something), then flicks a forehand pass by DelPo. Still, a few moments later, DelPo holds.

About that return:

9:37 – Federer holds at 15 in what felt like a minute, up 5-3. has lost all of 3 points on serve, none played on his 2nd serve (7 for 7). I think DelPo forgot he’s down a break. Or this:

DelPo holds without a hitch.

Question: Is this a more elegant version of the last match these two played at the O2 back in 2009? Back then, DelPotro had Federer under the knife, and botched some easy shots in the second set tiebreaker, forcing a third set. Federer needed that second set to make it to the semis. Of course, that doesn’t really apply here, since Federer is already through, and it’s DelPo who needs to win to qualify. The only difference, as mentioned at the top of this post, is that a Federer loss in straight sets has him going against Djokovic, while winning one set makes Federer the group winner, and will face Murray in the semis.

9:42 – Del Potro with one of his running cross-court screamer forehands. Only the fourth point he’s won on Federer’s serve. But Federer goes up 30-15 immediately. Still, Federer botches a forehand after completely outmaneuvering Del Potro, and it’s 30-all. A good wide serve coupled with a forehand down the line sets up set point for Federer. An ace out wide makes the crowd go wild, and Federer has clinched Group B, no matter what happens in the next set.

Elena Baltacha chimes in:

And previously:

Before we move into the 3rd set, here’s Djokovic’s dog with a very large giftbasket:

9:50 – Del Potro with an easy hold. The only highlight of the game was yet another horrible call by Lars Graf.

9:52 – DelPo hits a backhand down-the-line passing shot to set up his first break point of the match on Federer’s serve (UNICORNS), and then gets the break after a seemingly endless exchange of cross-court backhands ends with Federer botching one long.

Are these two warming up for the exo-season? You take a set, I take a set, home team wins it all?

9:55 – Del Potro consolidates the break easily. This has been one strange match.

At this particular moment in time, Gael Monfils tweets this:

Am I right that he’s saying “errors are not regretted, but admitted”? I’d like to think I understand French.

9:59 – Federer rattles off 4 straight points after going down 0-15. Should’ve been 0-30, but DelPo missed an easy backhand putaway. DelPo up 3-1.

As we advance towards a seemingly inevitable win, the questions about today’s scheduling pop up:

As well as about the format of this tournament:

Let’s not forget about this, either:

10:03 – DelPo holds for 4-1. No incidents to report other than another horrible call by the linespeople.

10:05 – This match reminds me so much of a World Cup Qualifying match between Argentina and Uruguay 9 years ago. Argentina was already qualified, and played away in Uruguay. The hosts needed a draw to advance, at the expense of Colombia, which had to win in Paraguay to have any semblance of a chance. Which they did, setting up the table for that crucial Argentina-Uruguay clash. The match ended 1-1, but everybody who saw it could relate that those were two very reluctant goals, in a very reluctant match. Uruguay qualified with the draw, and Colombia complained bitterly.

David Ferrer is Colombia in this scenario.

Anyway, Federer holds easily. 4-2.

10:10 – Del Potro holds to 15, after losing the first point of the game. 5-2. Not much to say, so lets turn it over to our guest commentator, Elena Baltacha:

10:14 – Federer holds to love, and it’s crunch time for DelPo.

10:15 – Forehand UFE for Federer, 15-0. Service winner, 30-0. DelPo botches a simple short forehand, 30-15. Federer with a pretty bad inside-out FH UFE (42 for the match for him). Double semifinal point for DelPo. After an actual intense rally, DelPo manages a great passing shot that Federer can barely get a racquet on. DelPo jumps in the air and roars, truly happy.

DelPo advances, and will play Djokovic. Federer wins the group, and will play Murray.

But hey, ticketholders for tonight’s session at the 02 Arena: THE MATCH YOU WILL SEE WILL MEAN NOTHING! NOTHING AT ALL!!!

Do come back next year, though.

Ms. Baltacha is happy:

10:26: So here I thought it was all set in stone, but it isn’t yet:

If Tipsarevic beats Ferrer, the triple-tie between Ferrer, Federer and DelPo is broken, and DelPo wins the group, since he just beat Federer and H2H is the first tiebreaker in a 2-way tie. Sets won is the first tiebreaker in a 3-way tie.

What’s in it for Ferrer today? Small matter of 200 points and some cash. Also, Tipsarevic has been the worst performer by a few thousand miles this week, so that’s an easy 200 points plus cash. In Rafael Nadal’s words, WE GONNA SEE, NO?

The Liveblog will be back in action for Ferrer-Tipsarevic.

As a post script to the last match:

I have nothing.

Anyway, the players are back on the court, and we’re ready for the match that has the following stakes:

1. Determining the WTF semifinal pairings (only possible if Tipsarevic somehow wins)

2. 200 ranking points plus assorted cash (for the winner).

Or as our good friend puts it:

1:31 pm – I find it cool that Lotto has rewarded their top guy with three different kits for the World Tour Finals. It’s a really nice gesture. What is not very cool is that all three are hideous. Here’s the latest:

1:34 – Ferrer gets broken to start the match. If I were him, I’d tank today. Not even artfully. As a peaceful demonstration against the scheduling nonsense.

1:36 – Ferrer has already swung his racquet violently against the ground. Might have cracked it. Maybe they told him about Federer’s quote. Yep, he broke it. Waited a point until changing racquets to avoid the racquet abuse warning. In related news, it’s 40-15 in the second game of the match. Tipsarevic holds.

1:39 – Ferrer completely out of sorts. Ferrer falls behind 15-40, saves a break point with a nice ace out wide, but then donates the double-break with a horrific inside-out FH UFE.

Perfectly put.

And here’s some more context:

I can’t blame Ferrer. It’s absolutely ludicrous that this match ended up being the night session.

In related news, Tipsarevic held, so he’s up 4-0.

1:47 – Ferrer holds with a challenged ace. The Spaniard seems to have settled down. I really would love to hear the official explanation about today’s scheduling. Tipsarevic up 4-1.

1:51 –


My reaction: *shakes head, laughs sadly*

1:42 – As Ferrer gets one of the breaks back without having to do anything out of the ordinary, a good summary of things:

1:55 – Ferrer hits a ball into the stands as he falls behind 15-40 on his serve. Regains his composure to save the first break point. However, Ferrer sends a forehand long, and Tipsarevic will serve for the set at 5-2.

2:06 – Ferrer breaks serve. It’s 5-3. The recent Paris winner keeps trying to contain his rage at the schedule. Right now he’s in a 0-30 hole yet again. Tipsarevic botches an easy volley, and then Ferrer thoroughly out-maneuvers him. 30-all. A few fun points later, Ferrer holds. Tipsarevic will try his hand again at serving out this set.

2:20 – A gopd serve puts Tipsarevic up 30-15. But two netted shots later, and it’s 30-40. Ferrer with a bad inside-out FH UFE brings ups back to deuce. A strange second serve return by Ferrer sets up set point, which is wasted by a bad mishit on the forehand side by Tipsarevic. However, the Serb hits a beauty of a 1st serve up the T, and then plays some of his best tennis of the week to clinch the set with an inside-out forehand winner.

2:22 – Quote of the week candidate:

2:29 – Tipsarevic plays a very loose first three points, and finds himself down 0-40. The last one was a particularly awful double fault. First break point is saved by a wide serve plus down-the-line groundie. But Ferrer gets the break after resisting an early onslaught, then pushing Tipsarevic back, and then putting away a simple volley. 2-0, Ferrer.

This tweet is just perfect:

2:34 – Easy hold for Ferrer, as he goes up 3-0.

2:37 – Uneventful hold for Tipsarevic, who is on the scoreboard for the first time in the second set.

2:39 – Ferrer with an absolutely abysmal service game, goes down 0-40 in about 2 seconds. The Spaniard saves the first break point with an ace up the T, then a nice service winner into the body. 30-40. And another service winner, it’s deuce. Now Tipsarevic forces another break point with a great cross-court backhand pass. Then Ferrer misses an inside-out forehand by five feet, and hands Tipsarevic the break. Swings a racquet to the floor again. Might have cracked it. Again. Tipsarevic will serve at 2-3.

2:52 – Ferrer creates a break point opportunity after Tipsarevic makes one of the worst challenges of the week (the ball was almost a foot inside the line), and then double-faults. This match is awesome. Ferrer agrees, sending a second serve return way long. A few more instances of mediocrity follow, and Ferrer has another break point, after Tipsarevic nets a very easy forehand volley. A deep Ferrer return nets the break, and it’s 4-2, Ferrer.

2:54 – We have the point of the match, at 4-2, 15-0. Lots of aggression from both undersized guys, and Ferrer creates enough of a gap to fire a down-the line forehand winner. Follows it up with a beauty of a cross-court blocked backhand pass. Barely any follow-through on that one. Then a double. Ferrer holds with a quasi-half-volley forehand.

Meanwhile, Gael Monfils is doing this:

https://twitter.com/Gael_Monfils/status/267367223453175808

And here’s his drink:

https://twitter.com/Gael_Monfils/status/267367773875879936

I take it “GwadaMade” and “RealGwada” mean that he’s in Guadaloupe?

3:01 – The quality of the match seems like it wants to improve. Tipsarevic holds, and Ferrer will serve for the set. Starts with an ace up the T. Another nice one up the T, and it’s 30-0. Tipsarevic goes on the offensive, and it’s 30-15. Ferrer moves Tipsarevic side to side, finishes with a nice wrong-footing backhand behind the Serb, and it’s double set point. Only one is needed, as Ferrer’s body serve can’t be returned by Tipsarevic. So, the most meaningless match of the whole tournament will go three sets.

Awesome.

Pretty much.

3:10 – Tipsarevic with an uneventful hold to start the third set.

3:13 – Some sloppy play by Ferrer mixed in with a nice Tipsarevic volley has us at 30-40, 0-1. They play a tentative point until Tipsarevic starts going for it (and grunting more). At one point he finds himself with a short backhand, the Serb goes for the angled winner…and misses badly. This match… A few minutes later, Ferrer holds. 1-all.

3:16 – At 0-15, Tipsarevic brutally smashes his racquet against the ground. Somehow, the Serb didn’t even bend the frame. 0-30. Tipsarevic gets one back after a great volley, but then sends a forehand long. 15-40. Bad luck strikes Tipsarevic, when a forehand of his clips the net, Ferrer chases down the inadvertent dropper, puts it away, and breaks. The Spaniard will serve at 2-1.

3:24 – Ferrer holds at love. Maybe there will be a quick ending to this match. 3-1.

3:25 – Ferrer with the Unicorn sighting: a backhand down the line winner. Followed by a great backhand down the line passing shot. 0-30. Tipsarevic keeps coming forward, and he keeps losing points. 0-40. Ferrer cooly outmaneuvers Tipsarevic, and it’s 4-1 for Ferrer.

You have to think that had Ferrer not come on court completely unhinged, this match was ending in two quick sets.

3:31 – Somehow, Tipsarevic has a break point at 30-40. But sends a second ball well long. Tried to go down the line. Ferrer then sets up game point with a nice slider. Ferrer holds after the letcord sends a Tipsarevic shot long. Also, this:

Also, Robin Haase asks an important question:

And then answers:

Is he at the 02?

3:36 – A wild inside-out forehand by Tipsarevic sets double match point for Ferrer. 200 points and 130K are in play. After a great return, Ferrer puts away a simple forehand, and he nets the rewards of calming himself down and imposing himself over a player who never really got his act together all week.

Kudos to David Ferrer. If I had been in his position, I wouldn’t have handled the situation like this. I probably would’ve withdrawn before the match citing sudden fatigue.

So, the semifinals are set: Federer will play Andy Murray, Djokovic will play Del Potro. In other words, the gold medal match and the bronze medal match we saw at the Olympic games earlier this year, also played in London.

Thank you all for reading, for tweeting and for refreshing the page! So ends the last Liveblog of the World Tour Finals. For tomorrow’s semis we will have “How the Match Was Won” posts for each of them, and Changeover staff picks will come up later.

PS: For once in my life, I agree with Feliciano López:

Translation: Can someone please tell me how is it possible that the ATP “luminaries” schedule David Ferrer after Federer-DelPo? #ThereAreThingsThatNeverChange

Pretty much.


Juan José loves a well struck backhand down the line, statistics that tell a story, a nice lob winner, and competent returns of serve.

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