Roger Federer moved into the ATP Finals last four at the expense of Novak Djokovic with a scintillating win over his great rival at the O2 Arena.

Swiss third seed Federer, 38, won 6-4 6-3 in a round-robin match which eliminates the Serb second seed from the season-ending tournament in London.

Federer will meet top seed Rafael Nadal or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last four.

Djokovic’s defeat also means Spain’s Nadal is guaranteed to finish as the year-end world number one.

Nadal, 33, is far from certain of reaching the last four himself, needing victory over Greek sixth seed Tsitsipas on Friday to have any chance.

However, if German seventh seed Alexander Zverev beats Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev then Nadal is out regardless of his result.

If results do go his way then Nadal will top the Andre Agassi Group and face Federer – who has finished second behind Austrian fifth seed Dominic Thiem in the Bjorn Borg Group – in Saturday’s semi-final.

Federer, who lost his opening match to Thiem, jumped for joy after clinching a victory which goes some way to avenging his defeat by Djokovic in an epic Wimbledon final in July.

‘I couldn’t be more happy’ – Federer avenges Wimbledon defeat

Anticipation for the first meeting between the pair since that enthralling Wimbledon final was high as they met on the other side of the English capital in a situation which few would have predicted before the tournament.

When the draw was made last week, most expected their final round-robin match to be a decider for who would top the group.

Yet both players came into it fighting for survival after Thiem blasted them off the court to earn back-to-back wins which assured the French Open finalist of a last-four spot at the O2 Arena for the first time.

Federer was the one who produced a high-quality performance at the crucial time, with Djokovic looking out of sorts and nursing an elbow injury in the final stages.

Federer dropped just three points on his serve in the first set, firing eight aces and winning all points behind his second serve, as even Djokovic’s famed defensive game could not cope with his accuracy.

While this victory will not completely make up for that bitter defeat at SW19, which denied him a 21st Grand Slam triumph, Federer’s delight at avenging it was clear.

Federer missed two championship points before going on to lose Wimbledon’s longest singles final in a historic final-set tie-break, but ruthlessly took his first opportunity here as Djokovic disintegrated.

Asked what he did differently at the O2, Federer said: “I won match point, I guess. It was so close at Wimbledon. It was a privilege to play that match, so many ups and downs.

“I couldn’t be more happy right now. I think I served great, had great anticipation, clear game-plan and it worked great tonight – hopefully not for the last time against Novak.”

Analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller

Djokovic says Federer is a role model even for him – and amid the pain of losing, he was able to appreciate a vintage performance from the 38-year-old.

When Federer serves like he did in the first set, no-one who can live with him: even if Djokovic did invite some of the pressure on himself, by sending down three double faults in his first service game and a half.

Once broken in the second set, Djokovic cut a dejected figure who sensed his number was up, as Federer continued to glide rapidly around the court.

His victory ensures Nadal will be the year end number one for a fifth time. Federer and Djokovic have also managed that five times. There really is so little to separate these three extraordinary players.

Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Tim Henman captaining Great Britain in the inaugural ATP Cup is “really positive for British tennis”, says Andy Murray.

Murray has used his protected injury ranking to ensure Britain can play in the 24-nation event in Australia.

As the nation’s leading player the Scot can choose the team captain, and his mentor Henman has been asked to do it.

“He’s got a lot of experience, he’s a fun guy to be around and he played lots of Davis Cups,” Murray said.

Henman, 45, has been friends with Murray since the three-time Grand Slam champion was a teenager and has been chosen ahead of Davis Cup captain Leon Smith to lead Britain in the ATP tournament, to be held in January.

Britain have been drawn in Group C alongside Bulgaria, Belgium and Moldova after Murray made a late decision to use his protected ranking of second in the world for Britain to compete.

Murray, 32, says picking Henman was a collective decision of the British team, who discussed their options in group phone calls and text chats.

“Tim hasn’t had too much involvement in the performance side of British tennis since he stopped playing and I think it would be great for all of the players to have him come in and be involved,” Murray told BBC Sport.

“He can get to know the players better, I think he could help all of us and more British players just outside of the ATP Cup team.

“It is a great experience for him and I think it will make him want to be involved in that side of things, which I think overall will be really positive for British tennis.”

The ATP Cup, which carries 750 ranking points, is separate from November’s revamped Davis Cup but could amalgamate with that tournament in the future, according to International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty.

Murray will open his 2020 season by taking on Bulgaria’s former Wimbledon semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov in Britian’s opening match in Sydney.

The former world number one will meet Dimitrov, who reached September’s US Open semi-finals and is ranked 20th in the world, on 3 January.

Murray was set to play Swiss great Roger Federer before the 20-time Grand Slam champion pulled out.

Federer, 38, said it would be “more beneficial” to spend more time with his family before the Australian Open later in January.

The withdrawal of the 20-time Grand Slam champion meant Switzerland were not eligible to compete because Henri Laaksonen – their next-highest-ranked player who committed to play the event at the first entry deadline – was ranked 110th at the time.

Murray told the BBC earlier this week it was “unfortunate” he would not be testing himself against Federer for the first time since having major hip surgery in January.

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Britain’s Joe Salisbury and American Rajeev Ram missed out on the ATP Finals doubles last four as they lost to Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo.

Victory would have seen Salisbury and Ram reach the semi-finals, but they were beaten 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 10-7 by Poland’s Kubot and Brazilian Melo.

Salisbury and Ram saved three match points before Ram sent a forehand into the net on the fourth.

Salisbury was the only Briton competing at the season-ending event in London.

In the singles event, Dominic Thiem of Austria and Italy’s Matteo Berrettini play their final group match at the O2 Arena.

They are followed by Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, with the winner of that match advancing to the semi-finals.

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• Nadal boosts Finals hopes; Tsitsipas through
• Zverev denies using phone during match

Bob and Mike Bryan, the most decorated tennis doubles partnership ever, will retire after next year’s US Open.

The 41-year-old American twins have won a professional era record of 118 titles, including 16 Grand Slams, and have spent 438 weeks at the top of the world rankings.

“It has truly been a magical ride,” Bob Bryan said.

“However, we want to end this great ride while we’re healthy and we can still compete for titles.”

They will bid farewell at their home Grand Slam in September, which was where they made their major championship debut in 1995.

Bob Bryan had hip resurfacing surgery in 2018 – the same operation Britain’s Andy Murray had in January this year – and returned to the court five months later to continue the winning partnership.

Among their other successes, they helped the United States win the Davis Cup in 2007 and took gold at the 2012 London Olympics and bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games.

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Alexander Zverev has denied using his phone during his match against Stefanos Tsitsipas at the ATP Finals.

Zverev was asked about the incident at a news conference after he was seen touching something in his bag at a changeover during Wednesday’s defeat.

The 22-year-old German, who lost 6-3 6-2 at London’s O2 Arena, said: “I don’t know what they saw, but it was definitely not a phone.”

Rules state players cannot access any electronic devices during matches.

“My phone was in the locker room. I always leave it there,” added Zverev.

Asked what he might have been touching, he said: “I mean, a water bottle? Empty water bottle maybe?”

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