Roger Federer returns to the O2 on Thursday with the mindset of having a proverbial knife to the throat.
A calamitous performance in his opener led some to suggest he was bedevilled by the yips but on Tuesday night that was replaced by a far more assured display in dismantling Dominic Thiem in straight sets.
Peak Federer has still not emerged with a first-service percentage of just 58% but, despite the mathematical complexities now of qualification in the final round-robin matches at the ATP Finals, he effectively knows he needs to beat Kevin Anderson, the form man of Group Lleyton Hewitt, to have a chance of his customary semi-final berth.
For Federer, his straight-set dismantling by Kei Nishikori remains an unsolved puzzle, put down primarily to a mental issue.
“I don’t know what happened against Nishikori,” he said. “Maybe it’s the round-robin format that got to me. You don’t feel like you have the knife here,” he said, pointing to his neck, “like in another tournament where if you’re struggling in the first round, you know if you don’t get your act together, you’re home in 30 minutes. You know here you’re going to play three matches, sometimes that’s going to make you feel… I don’t know.”
Anderson is a different prospect. Playing the best tennis of his career in 2018, he nearly handed Nishikori, a double bagel yesterday, winning 6-0, 6-1.
For Anderson and Federer, it is a first meeting since their epic Wimbledon quarter-final, which an ice cool Anderson edged 13-11 in the fifth set.
