How do you play a match at any level of the game and only lose three points on your second serve? That’s exactly what Novak Djokovic managed to pull off in his 6-3, 6-4 victory over Roger Federer in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London on Sunday night.

Second-serve performance is typically a key component in deciding victory from the back courts of Lahore to the centre court in London. Djokovic managed to win a mind-blowing 84 per cent (16/19) of his second-serve points against one of the most in-form players on the planet.

Many positive things flowed from this surprise advantage, including Djokovic only facing two break points in two sets against an opponent he lost to in straight sets earlier in the week, when he lost serve four times.  In the deuce court, Djokovic amazingly won 88 per cent (7/8) of second serves directed at Federer’s backhand down the T, and all three surprise serves to the forehand wing.

History shows us that Federer’s backhand return is always heavily targeted, but he was not sitting on this preferred location, ripping returns like the scouting report dictates.

In the ad court, Djokovic mixed it up much more, winning 50 per cent (2/4) to Federer’s backhand return on second serves, and 100 per cent (4/4) sneaking second serves right down the T to keep Federer off balance.

Second-serve performance is always a key component of victory, as it’s typically too difficult for the returner to succeed against far more powerful first serves. Federer averaged standing 1.3 metres (4.3 feet) inside the baseline to return Djokovic’s second serves, but quite often lacked the commitment to immediately attack.

On the first point of the 1-1 game in the second set, Federer looked to chip and charge off a second-serve return, second-guessed himself, and missed a routine return. That’s a moment in time when thinking really hurts you.

Federer’s magnificent short-ball-hunter instincts should have taken over, and his chance of winning the point at the net would have dramatically increased. Djokovic won 42 baseline points to Federer’s 23, so why stay back? While Djokovic soared, winning 84 per cent of his second-serve points, Federer struggled mightily, winning only 42 per cent (9/21) against the world’s best returner.

Federer’s game was spotty right from the beginning, committing 31 unforced errors to the Serb’s 14. With everything else being equal, that sinks the boat right there.

Federer hit more winners (19-13) than Djokovic, but as usual, it was the player who made fewer unforced errors than more winners who was smiling at the net shaking hands when the dust settled.

Federer’s backhand proved problematic throughout. He hit six winners off that wing but too often wildly missed the mark with 13 unforced errors, stopping his sporadic good play in its tracks.

Djokovic targeted Federer’s backhand from start to finish, hitting 70 per cent of his backhands cross court, and then on the right ball, attacking 30 per cent down the line to pressure Federer’s forehand on the run.

Federer hit 61 per cent of his backhands cross court and 39 per cent down the line, but should have directed a lot more down the middle of the court to Djokovic’s forehand, to rebound the ball back down the middle to his own forehand.

Federer used a lot more slice than Djokovic off his backhand wing, hitting 69 per cent topspin and 31 per cent slice, trying to disrupt the Serb’s dominant rhythm. Djokovic was content to just keep ploughing away at the comparatively weaker Federer backhand wing, hitting 97 per cent of his backhands with topspin, and only 3 per cent with slice.

Overall, Djokovic hit 23 per cent of his shots standing inside the baseline, 56 per cent within two metres behind the baseline, and 21 per cent further back than two metres.

Djokovic capped off a magnificent year with a dominant performance against a fierce rival. It’s the first time in the history of our sport that a player has won four consecutive year-end championships in a row.

It’s now time to put a glorious season to bed. Let’s respect Djokovic’s amazing process, and give thanks to him for taking us to a place on the mountain where nobody before has ventured.

It has been a historic season for Novak Djokovic. How will he celebrate his fourth consecutive victory at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals?

Follow the 2015 champion around O2 Arena as talks about his ambitions for next season and reveals his big plans for the holidays.

Roger Federer is the only player to have inflicted defeat on World No. 1 Novak Djokovic more than once this season. He had downed the Serb for a third time on Tuesday in the round-robin stage of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

But in the title match on Sunday, revenge came sweet for Djokovic – his straight sets result securing a fifth season-ending championship, in his 15th final from the 16 events he entered in 2015. Big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic was the only man who managed to deny him a berth in a final all season. He did so in the Doha quarter-finals.

“I guess Karlovic is my nemesis. I have a negative score against him. I have to talk about him before Doha next year,” Djokovic grinned. “It’s been an incredible season. Other than that tournament, I’ve played all finals. Obviously, sitting here with this trophy alongside me, I couldn’t ask for a better finish to the season. The last four years I managed to win the (Barclays ATP) World Tour Finals, where the best players in the world are playing. For some reason or another, I’ve been playing some of my best tennis after the US Open, in Asia and also indoors, both Paris and London.

“I’ve been trying to really pay as equal attention to the work and the recovery, as well, mental and physical. It allows me to have the longevity. It allows me to have the matches and the tournaments I’ve had in the last couple years.

“But this season definitely stands out. I can’t say I expected it, not at all … (It) obviously gives me a lot of confidence for anything that is coming in the future.”

Against Federer, in Showdown No. 2 at the season finale, Djokovic adjusted his tactics after the World No. 3 ended his streaks of 38 consecutive indoor match wins, 23 overall this season and 15 straight at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday.

“He’s a very complete player. I know that he’s always going to push you hard and try to protect the baseline, take away the time from you, which he was doing also today,” he said.

“I think what I managed to do better than what I’ve done in the last match we played in the group stage here was the fact that I was more solid from back of the court. I served well when I needed to.

“You try to take advantage of certain parts of his game that were not working well today, which was his backhand.”

It caps a remarkable season for the runaway World No. 1 who finished with 11 titles, including three of the four Grand Slams and an record six ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles. Only John McEnroe (1984), Jimmy Connors (1974) and Federer (2005 and 2006) have finished with a better winning percentage and with as many or more titles.

Still, however, a Roland Garros champion’s trophy is missing from the Serb’s bounty. And in 2016 an elusive Olympic gold medal will also be on the line in Rio de Janeiro.

“Roland Garros is always one of the biggest challenges I have every year, but it’s not the only one. There are the Olympic Games that are happening every four years,” he said. “I will try to do as well as I’ve done in the last couple of years, always peak at the right moments and always try to perform my best at the biggest events.

“Now what I’m thinking about is the rest. I need some time to really recharge my batteries and then I’ll think about my next season.”

Roger Federer shows why he is still a force to be reckoned with on a fast indoor court, turning defence into offence against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Despite this flash of brilliance, Federer was denied a seventh title at the year-end championships and would fall to Djokovic in straight sets.

He said it himself. Only moments after his round-robin victory over Novak Djokovic on Tuesday in London, Roger Federer observed, “The way I know Novak, he’s going to find a way to be tougher to beat from now on.”

After 43 FedEx ATP Head2Head encounters, you learn a thing or two about your opponent. You pick up on the subtleties, the intangibles. Federer knew good and well that the World No. 1 would adjust, retool and put the 7-5, 6-2 Group Stan Smith defeat behind him. As the Serb sagely observed earlier this year, in the midst of one of the most dominant seasons the sport has ever seen, “If there’s one thing that I learned in the sport it’s to recover fast and to leave things behind.”

The 28-year-old Belgradian’s short memory served him well in Sunday’s winner-take-all showdown at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, where two of the game’s all-time greats squared off for the second time in a matter of days, their eighth meeting of 2015. From the moment the first ball was struck, it was clear that Djokovic had put the past behind him; his only concern the task that lay ahead.

Though Djokovic would avenge Tuesday’s loss and level their FedEx ATP Head2Head history at 22-22 with a 6-3, 6-4 win, becoming the first player to win four straight titles in the tournament’s 46-year history, Federer won’t hang his head for long.

He finishes the year at 63-11 overall, including a 39-6 mark on hard courts. Though coming into the final at The O2 he still had a shot at No. 2 in the year-end Emirates ATP Rankings, he will finish in the Top 3 for the 12th time in the past 13 years. At 34, he is the oldest player in the Top 10 since No. 7 Andre Agassi (35) in 2005.

It was a year in which he claimed six titles (Brisbane, Dubai, Istanbul, Halle, Cincinnati and Basel), second only to Djokovic (11). He compiled a 6-5 record in finals, with all five losses coming to Djokovic. In ATP Masters 1000 play, he went 16-6, highlighted by the title in Cincinnati, where he beat Andy Murray and Djokovic in succession, the first time in his 17-year career that he defeated the Nos. 1-2 players in same tournament.

With his win over Canada’s Milos Raonic in the Brisbane final, he became one of only three players in the Open Era to hurdle the 1,000-win mark, joining Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl.

“I’ve got to keep pushing forward,” said Federer. “Got to keep practising hard, being serious about all the things I do. Now rest, recover, enjoy my family, my wife. Just have a great time there. Then once I get back to practice, the gym, enjoy that part as well, which I do. Thankfully, I found a way to embrace that part as well over the years.”

If he’s proven one thing in 2015, it’s that he is far from done. Some 17 years into his professional career, Federer still has the desire, the determination to grind it out it week to week on the ATP World Tour in search of titles.

“I think this year had a lot of great things in my game,” he said on Sunday. “How I’m able to play at net now, how I’m moving and feeling at net in particular is a great thing to have. Then my serve has been really working very consistent, very well throughout the year more or less. Maybe if I can just get that to work slightly better at times, that would be incredibly helpful. I’ll work on that as well.

“I haven’t thought about it too much in terms of what is my number one, number two, number three goals,” he added. “Usually, I go into a season with two or three really big goals, then maybe four or five other ones that are really important to you. The rest of the tournaments I just really enjoy playing. I’d like to defend my titles. But right now my mind somehow doesn’t go further than the Australian Open.”

Novak Djokovic completed his argument for one of the greatest seasons of all time on the ATP World Tour, capping a historic campaign with a record fourth consecutive Barclays ATP World Tour Finals crown. The Serb downed six-time titlist Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday.

It was déjà vu with their second meeting this week at The O2 in London – and 44th overall – coming on the heels of Federer’s 7-5, 6-2 triumph in Group Stan Smith play on Tuesday. The FedEx ATP Head2Head is now level at 22-22, with the top-ranked Serb owning a 5-3 edge in their 2015 encounters.

“I’m obviously very proud to have these achievements with my team,” said Djokovic during the trophy ceremony. “It’s been a long season, but the best of my life. Without their support and my family, I wouldn’t be where I am. I’m just trying to cherish every moment at this level. As a kid growing up, you dream to be at tournaments like this and fighting for the biggest trophies in sport.” 

Djokovic, who improved to 18-1 at the Final Showdown over the course of his four straight title runs, won his 11th title of 2015 and 59th overall at the tour-level. He brings home $2,061,000 in prize money and 1,300 Emirates ATP Rankings points. The World No. 1, who also won the title in 2008 when the event was held in Shanghai, draws level with Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras as the second-most successful players in tournament history, behind only Federer’s six crowns. He concludes the season with an 82-6 win-loss record and is now just 14 match victories from reaching 700 in his career.

“Against Roger it’s very specific,” Djokovic said in press. “You need to adjust to the tactics because of his game. He plays very quickly. He likes things to happen fast. He takes away the time from his opponent. He has so much variety in his game with slice, comes to the net, great serve, forehand, one of the best ever. He’s very complete player. I know that he’s always going to push you hard and try to protect the baseline, take away the time from you, which he was doing also today.

“I think what I managed to do better than what I’ve done in the last match we played in the group stage here was the fact that I was more solid from back of the court. I served well when I needed to. I got myself out of trouble. I returned more balls back than I did five days ago. I think that helped me to get into the rally. I always try to make him play one extra shot.” 

BEST MATCH RECORDS AT NO. 1

Djokovic has compiled one of the best seasons in the history of the Emirates ATP Rankings (since 1973). Here is a look at the No. 1 players with the best match winning percentages since 1973:

Federer, meanwhile, was bidding for a historic seventh title at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and 89th overall. His season ends with the World No. 3 spot in the Emirates ATP Rankings, claiming 63 match wins and six titles from 11 finals – in Brisbane, Dubai, Istanbul, Halle, Basel and the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati. In 2016, he will continue his quest to pass Ivan Lendl (1071) for second place on the all-time match wins list, pulling to within 12 victories.

“It would have been nice to serve a little bit better early on in the match, play better overall on his second serve, because he does allow you to play on his second serve,” said Federer. “Maybe at times I went for too much. The moments where I should have gone safe, I didn’t, and vice versa. Those are the two regrets I have.

“If I played the match again, that is what I would try to do different. Other than that, I thought it was a good match. It was close. First six games were tough, to be down 4-2. I had my chances to at least be even. But I thought he played well. Still high-quality match, I thought.”

Here is how the final was won…

FIRST SET – Djokovic 6-3
The key to Federer’s success in their clash on Tuesday was his efficiency in neutralising Djokovic’s first serve and peppering the World No. 1’s forehand during baseline exchanges. Federer put the screws on Djokovic in goading 22 unforced errors to just 12 winners off the top seed’s racquet, claiming 49 per cent of his rival’s first serve points.

The Swiss was in prime position to continue the same trend on Sunday, but, after saving a break point in his first service game, Djokovic pounced on one of his own at 1-1. A Federer mid-rally forehand clipped the tape at 30/40 and he could not recover as Djokovic secured the opening break.

It did not take long for Federer to have another look at a break point. With Djokovic serving up 3-2, the Basel native launched a sublime backhand down the line winner to bring proceedings to deuce and earned his second break opportunity when the defending champion misfired wide on a forehand. But Djokovic clamped down as Federer’s patience slipped, striking his seventh backhand unforced error to give his rival the hold for 4-2.

With Federer once again applying pressure on Djokovic’s serve at 4-3 40/30, the Serb fired a leaping kick serve that pulled the Swiss off the court and followed it up with a rifled backhand winner down the line – a combination that has worked quite effectively for him over the years. Djokovic would secure the opening set a game later after 39 minutes, converting on his second set point.

SECOND SET – Djokovic 6-4
With football stars Thierry Henry and Olivier Giroud in attendance, Federer looked to draw level behind a quick break in the second set. A win would bring the Swiss back to World No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and he was eager to take the early initiative. Two brilliant baseline winners – one backhand flick down-the-line and one off his forehand side -brought the score to 40/30 with Djokovic serving at 1-1, but once again Federer was unable to close the door. Contesting a single-season record 15th consecutive final, the World No. 1 remained steady.

A scintillating, angle-assaulting rally in the second point of the seventh game brought the fans out of their seats as Federer closed it out with beautiful touch at the net. Djokovic would once again hold three points later, with Federer hesitant to come forward and attack the net.

Djokovic’s depth and weight of shot drove Federer off the baseline with the Swiss serving at 3-4. A 0/40 lead put him in significant danger, but Federer would reel off five straight points to hold behind a clutch serving display.

Djokovic had won 84 per cent of second serve points to Federer’s 44 per cent through eight games in the second set, and he would not suffer a hangover from the slew of missed opportunities, holding to love for 5-4.

Djokovic again applied pressure on the Federer serve in the next game. A 34-shot rally won by the Serb resulted in a 0/30 lead. The Swiss had saved five of seven break points as they arrived at two match points at 15/40, but a double fault sealed Djokovic’s place in season finale lore. He became the first player to win four consecutive championships at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals after 81 minutes. 

Infosys ATP Insights
In the eighth game of the second set, Federer fell behind 0/40, a point from which he has rallied to hold serve 37 percent of the time in 2015, according to Infosys ATP Insights. The six-time Finale champion dug deep and reeled off five straight points to level at 4-all. However, Federer came under pressure again in his next service game, falling behind 15/40. He saved the first championship point but then at 30/40 threw in a double fault. Infosys ATP Insights also show that Federer double faults on break point on average only once in 24 matches. More Infosys ATP Insights here.