Story highlights
Roger Federer beats David Ferrer 7-5 6-3 in semis at ATP World Tour Finals
The 16-time grand slam champion is seeking a record sixth title in London
He will face French sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Sunday's final
Swiss star will return to No. 3 in year-end rankings above Andy Murray
Roger Federer is on course to win a record sixth end-of-season tennis championship after beating David Ferrer in London on Saturday to reach his 100th career final and return to third in the world rankings.
The defending champion triumphed 7-5 6-3 in one hour and 25 minutes to set up a ATP World Tour Finals showdown with sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Sunday.
He extended his winning record against the fifth-seeded Spaniard to 12-0 in career meetings, and is now unbeaten in 16 matches after winning titles in his hometown Basel and Paris in the past month.
The 30-year-old now has the chance to surpass Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras, who won the tournament five times in the 1980s and ’90s respectively.
Djokovic exits as Berdych beats Ferrer at ATP Tour Finals
“It’s obviously a special occasion for me tomorrow playing my 100th final, possibly winning my 70th title and winning my sixth at the World Tour Finals,” Federer said.
“It was a tough match. I could clearly see why David beat Murray and Djokovic here – he takes the ball really early, is able to generate great angles off his plays and is super consistent.
“It was a key 5-4 game for me to hold and then break the next game. Then, actually, break again early on in the second set. That was a crucial sort of 15-20 minutes for me. I’m happy I was able to decide the match right there.”
Ferrer will now turn his attentions to the Davis Cup final, as Spain take on Argentina in Seville on his more favored clay surface next weekend.
He started the week with a bang, beating Andy Murray in straight sets before the third-seeded Briton pulled out with a groin injury.
Ferrer then thrashed world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, but suffered a surprise defeat to Berdych on Friday that meant the Czech went through as Group A winner and avoided Ferrer in the semis.
Federer, who beat Rafael Nadal in last year’s final, has reached the title match for the seventh time after winning all four matches this week at the indoor hard-court event.
Tsonga continued his strong end to the season with a 6-3 7-5 win over seventh seed Berdych in Saturday’s second semi.
The Frenchman will seek to avenge his Paris Masters final defeat by Federer, also losing to the 16-time grand slam champion in their Group B encounter in London.
However, the 26-year-old has won two of their seven clashes this year – most notably at the Wimbledon quarterfinals as Federer suffered his first defeat when leading by two sets in a grand slam.
