Roger Federer gets revenge on Kevin Anderson for Wimbledon shock as he powers through to World Tour Finals semis
Swiss maestro completed impressive turnaround with straight sets win after his opening round-robin defeat to Kei Nishikori
ROGER FEDERER gained revenge for his Wimbledon exit last night and banished his nightmare O2 Arena start, beating Kevin Anderson 6-4 6-3 and securing a spot in the semis of the Nitto ATP Finals.
The Swiss star came close to an early exit from the competition after losing his opening round-robin match to Kei Nishikori last Sunday.
Yet the 20-time major winner put those woes behind him to secure his semi-final spot with a victory over the in-form South African giant.
It made amends for his epic five-set defeat to Anderson in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon this summer.
Federer, 37, rose to the occasion and produced his best performance during the Finals, seeing the South African off in an hour and 17 minutes.
Anderson, however, had secured his place in the semis before the Federer clash and will probably face Novak Djokovic in the next round.
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World's No8 found it hard to score winners against hard-pressing Swiss, ending the game with only 13 points won and 24 unforced errors.
Federer, on the contrary, raised the bar and rarely made mistakes - finishing the clash with a positive 18-14 ratio.
The Swiss didn't give his opponent much chances winning 68 per cent of second-serve return points against Big Kev, and also dominating mid-range rallies.
Federer broke Anderson four times and, thanks to holding a better games ratio, pipped the South African to the top of the Leyton Hewitt group - meaning he will most likely avoid meeting Novak Djokovic in the next round.
After the game, the Swiss said he enjoyed the pressure coming off the back of the Sunday loss to Nishikori.
He said: “The first match was tough against Kei, I never got going.
"Maybe when my back is against the wall it’s easier to play. I fought hard. I'm happy to be alive.
"I'm very happy. I tried to come up with a good game plan against Dominic and Kevin...it's been a fun group."