LONDON - Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka opened his ATP Tour Finals campaign in scintillating style with a 6-1, 6-1 demolition of Tomas Berdych on Monday. Wawrinka, the reigning Australian Open champion, had been in poor form heading into the prestigious event at London’s O2 Arena, but the world number four was back in the groove against the Czech as he took only 58 minutes to wrap up his Group A opener.
The 29-year-old hit 16 winners to only four from Berdych, while the Czech’s 20 unforced errors were also a large part of his undoing. Wawrinka made it to the semi-finals on his Tour Finals debut last year and, on this evidence, will fancy his chances of progressing from a group that also includes world number one Novak Djokovic and US Open champion Marin Cilic, who meet later on Monday.
“For me, when I play against him it’s usually tough,” Wawrinka said. “But I can always find a solution. I’m really happy with the way I handled the situation today.” It was another dispiriting Tour Finals start for Berdych, who had lost all four of his previous opening matches at the eight-man tournament. “Unfortunately it was my worst match of the whole season, and I kept it for the start here in the World Tour Finals,” Berdych said. “I’m in the worst possible situation that I can ever be. I’m going to face Marin and Novak and the only chance to qualify is to beat them. It’s almost a mission impossible, but let’s try.”
After winning his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, Wawrinka has suffered a gradual slump that reached its lowest point over the last month as he lost four of his last five matches, including first round exits in Tokyo, Shanghai and Basel. Despite that woeful run, Wawrinka had won his last four matches against Berdych, including in the group stage of the Tour Finals last year, and he was quick to reestablish his supremacy against the Czech.
Wawrinka broke in the second game and refused to release his grip as he landed another break to race into a 5-0 lead before most fans had even got settled in their seats. Berdych got on the scoreboard at last but it was too late to stop the Swiss wrapping up the first set in 25 minutes. There was no let-up from Wawrinka in the second as he out-played the Czech with his mix of power and poise from the baseline. He broke for a 2-1 lead and, with Berdych completely out of sorts, it was no surprise to see Wawrinka break twice more as he sprinted to victory.
Roger Federer was also back in the groove at the ATP World Tour Finals as the six-time champion defeated Milos Raonic 6-1, 7-6 (7/0). Federer last won the prestigious season-ending event at London’s O2 Arena in 2011 and the world number two looks in the mood to add another title to his collection on the evidence of a powerful performance, featuring 24 winners, that avenged his loss to Raonic in the Paris Masters quarter-finals last month.
Raonic, 23, is making his Tour Finals debut as the first player born in the 1990s to compete in the event after a breakthrough year that included a run to the Wimbledon semi-finals. But at 33, Federer has been in age-defying form this year and he arrived as the oldest player to qualify for the tournament in his record 13th consecutive appearance.
Federer is set to become the oldest player to finish a season in the world’s top two and still has a slim chance of becoming the oldest player to end the season as world number one if he overhauls Novak Djokovic in the race for top spot. The 17-time Grand Slam winner brushed aside Raonic in straight sets in the Wimbledon semi-finals earlier this year and he wasted little time reestablished his supremacy in their latest London meeting.
Raonic has fired down over 1,000 aces this year and he looked to overpower the Swiss by firing down 138mph and 141mph bombs in his opening service game. But Federer wasn’t intimidated by that barrage, returning both massive serves to earn three break points that swiftly turned into a 2-0 lead. If that was disheartening for Raonic there was worse to come as Federer, defusing the Canadian’s serve with ease, broke again in the sixth game before closing out the set in emphatic fashion.
Despite a chastening first set, Raonic showed commendable resilience and began to assert himself at the start of the second, forcing Federer to dig deep to save two break points in the fourth game. Raonic’s serve was in the groove now and, with his groundstrokes equally vigorous, the Canadian earned a set point at 6-5. Yet Federer managed to escape that predicament and forced a tie-break, which he took in ruthless fashion to seal the win. “I was very happy with how I performed. The second set was much tougher. I don’t think he played a great breaker but it was a great one to win,” Federer said. “It’s a small relief. We have a tough group here so it’s always going to be hard advancing but it brings me a step closer.”